Clash
by Supercian
Summary: (2012 Cartoon) Mona Lisa really hated when things clashed with each other. Cats and dogs, sweet and sour, pink and red...they were combinations that never really worked well. What happens when she finds four other mutants similar to herself? What happens when she gets pulled into their antics? Please review!
1. Chapter One

**AN: This takes place in the 2012 TMNT, it's my idea of what would happen if Mona Lisa from the 1980 show would be added. PLEASE don't be mad that I changed around her back story in this chapter. She's 15-16 upon meeting the turtles. I really hope you enjoy this fan fiction anyway. Not all chapters will be this long and I apologize for the terrible summary.**

* * *

**Part One**

**Mutant**

_Sometimes it takes a really good fall to know where you stand_

_- Hayley Williams, Lead Singer of Paramore_

* * *

**Chapter One**

**The Ballad of Mona Lisa**

* * *

Mona knew that mutants existed long before she met the turtles.

Headlines often filled special bulletin broadcasts and newspapers, all of them revolving around the unusual shapes and creatures that were said to lurk between New York's skyscrapers and dark alleyways. In a way, the time of day during the supposed sightings seemed to further validate the point that these beings _were not _normal. Night was the worst time anyone could inhabit the city. While the sunset and the glittering lights of the buildings were pretty, they were only on the surface. People often make judgments based on what they saw upon first impression, rather than what lurks deeper. The streets of New York were filled with violence; the stuff everyone always seemed to overlook or ignore unless they were the victims. Mona use to have the same mindset when she attended Middle School. Your only desire is to fit in with the people around you and it almost seems like you're expected to snub anyone who doesn't fit into a particular stereotype, as if they were an enemy. It was ridiculous! She always had it easy, though. She overlooked a lot of things. She was the girl who took gymnastics when she was younger. She was the one who went out for cheerleading - and made the team. She was the thin girl with the long brown locks and the obsession with pink. She was the girl without a care in the world.

And all of it was fake.

Yes, she loved cheer leading and gymnastics (and especially pink), but her true love remained with electronics and physics.

Her passion was something she always hid from everyone around her, even her parents. So she brought home good grades. Big deal. All kids were expected to keep their grades up. Instead, her mom and dad were so proud of their little cheer princess. They talked competitions, nationals, etc. They planned for her to take cheer in High School and in college. Mona made plans for this as well, but not by her own desires. Her parents would be crushed if they found out she didn't make the team once high school hit. Her interest in physics became a secondary concern. Honestly, who had ever heard of the technical wiz-kid cheerleader anyway? They didn't go well together. It had to be one or the other and as it's been mentioned, some people don't look for the gray area, especially not the kids at her school. This Mona was somebody everybody liked, and all it took was for her to change everything about herself. This is what led to her downfall in the first place. Peer pressure.

A few of the richer kids that attended her school had discovered an abandoned boat around New York's docking area. It was further down, in a bad part of town and had been docked there for several weeks. In the typical, overly done preteen fashion, they decided to throw a party on it. Even if Mona didn't want to go, her friends on the squad managed to convince her.

There was nothing special about the boat, she realized that as soon as one of her friend's older sisters dropped them off. The ship was slowly rusting away, the name on the side wasn't even legible anymore. With the amount of kids dancing on it, Mona questioned whether or not the thing could still support weight. She couldn't swim, so ending up in the water wasn't an option. As if her worry mattered in the first place. She was soon caught in the crowd of her giddy friends, jumping and chatting excitedly as they climbed aboard. She may have been a showstopper on the court, but the real Mona couldn't care less. She wasn't a people person. Her friends danced, and she sat on the edge of the ship in the corner, sipping soda. She had gotten a new dress for the party. It was strapless and pink with pockets on the front. It still didn't do anything to make her feel more lively. Instead she gazed at the water, observing the strange, blue glow that seemed the pour from the windows beneath. Probably fancy lighting, though she hadn't seen anybody walk downstairs or even an entrance.

The events carried on like this for an hour and a half. She just sat there and sipped, occasionally making small talk whenever some of her acquaintances from school walked by, before they returned to the dance floor. That's when all chaos broke loose. Lost in her thoughts, Mona didn't notice the dancing and chatter cease, the area becoming eerily quiet. Just like the boat had become silent, panic took it's place, breaking Mona from her trance. She turned, and through the crowd of fleeing and screaming kids she could see them. Thin, purple and blue, chrome, humanoid robots.

One spoke, explaining to the others to get the "mutagen" at any cost, and saying it in a very redundant manner. Their dialect was what made Mona wonder as to whether or not these things were a threat. Her mistake. They started to fire, the guns matched their body design and produced beams of purple-pink light. Who knew what that stuff was or what it could do? In the fear of getting shot, she lost her balance on the boat's edge and fell backwards into the water. Blackness consumed her, along with confusion. Which way was up? The air in her lungs ran out before she got the chance to find out. The last thing she remembered was the explosion above, the light filtering through the dark water. She didn't know who did it or how. Maybe one of the robot creatures had fired at a gas tank by mistake? Either way, her eyes shut as the sharp debris cut through the water above. Likewise, her eyes remained shut as milky blue goo, the cause of the glow behind the lower level windows, seeped through the water. And they would remain shut as it made contact with her skin, burning her with its icy heat.

The next morning she woke up under the docks.

And she was a lizard.

Finally the deeper, darker aspects of New York became a second home to her. Everything was finally _real._

* * *

The metallic clatter of a wrench filled the air as it collided with the ground. Mona Lisa, the resident mechanic of the formerly abandoned gas station, had tossed it aside once the final inspection of the motorcycle was complete. She now sat up, adjusting her hair tie from where it had come loose during the bike's tune up. It was late at night, way past her usual bedtime, but the repairs wouldn't take an hour to complete and the owners were coming to get it the next day. Better safe than sorry. She had a reputation to keep up in this part of town and couldn't afford to lose it. Literally, she couldn't _afford_ to lose it. The garage was her only source of money.

The weeks following her mutation were the worst she had ever known. She could only travel at night. Coming into contact with people in broad daylight was a bad idea, a quick discovery she had made before she had even seen her new face. She knew the rocks and metal cans would sting when those people threw them at her, she just didn't expect them to leave bruises and cuts.

Afterwards she jumped from hiding spot to hiding spot, risking her neck in gang territories but discovering her ability to climb walls in the process. She found the gas station not long after. When Mona was younger (around six or seven) the gas station belonged to an elderly man. This man loved kids, he even gave them free ice cream whenever their parents came into the store while making a stop. But more than anything, this man loved Christmas. Every year, the station was filled with giant, inflatable snowmen and reindeer, miles of multicolored Christmas lights, bows, wreathes, and cut-outs of holiday characters. It always brightened Mona's day whenever she drove past, her mind lost in the sparkle of the glittering bulbs.

She was sad to say that this tradition came to an end by the time she was eleven. The owner had died of a heart attack. The mechanics and cashiers left, finding new jobs and leaving the store, pumps, and garage to rot and to glaze over in layer upon layer of graffiti.

After breaking in, Mona found the decorations stored in a room on the second floor. Besides a few minor pieces of furniture in the small living unit above and the barren shelves of the store below, there were no signs of anyone ever being there. It would be the perfect place to stay for a day or two. That was really how long she had intended to stay before finding a new shelter. Staying in one area for too long was dangerous. But as she attempted to sleep on the hard floor that night, sounds of slicing, scraping, and voices had awoken her.

Two men were pushing a black van near the garage, sparks flying below from the lack of tires and dented metal. It looked as if it had been caught under a subway strain and dragged.

"Why did we even come here? This place has been shut down for months."

"Exactly." His companion pressed. "Perfect place to get rid'a some dead weight."

They continued to push the machine until it was inside the garage. Mona observed from the window above, carefully pulling back the blinds hat remained. The garage was a separate building, connected to the two-story station, the bottom half formerly holding the junk food and cash registers as well as the kitchen and living room and the top story making up the rest of the apartment.

"You think the boss is gonna be upset?" The first man asked as the other pulled the doors closed.

"The boss ain't gonna find out." It was more of a threat than reassurance.

"But what if somebody messes with it?"

His fellow criminal only laughed at the rookie.

"Let 'em. Ain't gonna do them any justice."

They left.

In the morning, at sunrise, Mona walked down to the garage to inspect the damage. How was it possible for anybody to wreck an automobile like this? The entire roof of the van had collapsed in. She searched the garage for spare tools. The van wasn't going to be easy to repair, but it was possible. She threw herself into this project for the next two months, and it started looking better everyday. Tearing down the grocery store shelves, she was able to trade the scrap metal for whatever parts or tools she needed at a nearby military dump. She used the process of "take what you need and leave the metal as payment." The people who ran the junkyard didn't complain. The shelves were made from a rare, expensive quality of metal. It was worth more money than the place probably made in a year (which wasn't much, honestly.). Either that, or they were happy to get rid of the rusting content inside of the wooden-fenced metal pit. Even after she ran out of metal and continued to search there at night, there was never a stakeout to catch her or a warrant put out for trespassing (none that she knew of, at least.)

Finally, the garage was stocked with enough items that she could do her repairs. What was it that made her so obsessed with this one vehicle, though? Maybe it was just her interest in mechanics. It was something the "real Mona" had enjoyed doing, putting two and two together. Problem solving. Finding what parts of the puzzle connected. It made her feel more human. It was all that she had left now. Not that she had anything to show for it afterwards. The two gang members from before had come back, searching for their ride. Apparently "the boss did find out."

The van, now complete and Mona's pride and joy, was about to be taken away from her. The garage doors came up, and the two stared at the van, shocked expressions on both of their faces. _It was perfect! _It was molded back to it's original shape, all parts replaced, and a fresh coat of paint and gloss was applied to the surface. Mona, sensing them coming, was now on the catwalk above, the shadows hiding her reptilian form. She had no way to defend herself, and she wasn't dumb enough to try. It would be better to let them take the van and leave her alone. The two were apparently dumbfounded at the sight, the rookie confused beyond belief. It was almost amusing.

"What...what do we do?" He asked.

The other man had already reached into his pocket and now counted out a large stack of bills. He placed it on a box beside the door.

"We get out of here."

They took it. They took her car, all of her hard work, and she never even had the chance to drive it. She climbed down and walked over to the money. How much had the cheapskates left her? She counted it out.

Then nearly screamed in joy at the amount. It was way more than what the scrap metal was worth, that much was certain.

After making a few calls from the payphone(which still worked, surprisingly) in the garage and doing a little rewiring, Mona had found a permanent residence at the station. She ordered a computer, leaving the money outside with a note apologizing that she had "missed them." She brought the computer inside as soon as they were out of view. The road wasn't busy at the moment and it was a quick in and out. She had internet, electricity, and water set up over the phone as well, along with two or three credit card orders. From there she ordered whatever she needed online, whether it was more tools or a pink scarf. She didn't have to leave her home or talk to anybody, which was probably fine to New York's population. She wouldn't have decided to stop contact with her parents if it wasn't. Deep down, she knew they loved her no matter what, but she wasn't that beautiful girl anymore, no matter how much she experimented with makeup on her light green skin. She wasn't a popular high school (she would be in high school now) cheerleader, no matter how many times she went to the garage's roof with her radio and practiced her back flips and cheers at night. That part of her life was over. She was nothing more than an eyesore now.

The next time the two gang members crashed the van (and they were both idiots, she had a feeling they would be back) they brought it back to the garage and paid her up-front, leaving the money on the dashboard. She took the money and banged out the simple dents in the side. It was ready by the end of the week. Word got around soon enough of the gas station with the phantom mechanic. You drop your vehicle off in the evening, and it gets taken inside during the night. Depending on how serious the damage is, customers usually got their ride back by the end of the week. It wasn't just gangs like The Purple Dragons that she attended too. Families dropped off their mini vans, bikers dropped off their motorcycles, little kids even dropped off their scooters and bicycles (granted, the little ones' forms of payment were mostly candy and vending machine toys, but she was happy to do it. The items never failed to entertain her.) Some even payed with food or weaponry, which was greatly appreciated.

The area kind of became a safe haven. Mona had become one of the best mechanics on the street, and it was implied from other gangs and gang members that they were to leave Mona's home alone. They all knew the mechanic inside had strange ways, but without her, they would be losing a lot of money on rip-off mechanics. They were desperate. So no fights ever broke out and nobody ever lingered around the area, especially not near the little ones. People dropped off their stuff and left. It bothered her a little that she was helping people break the law by fixing their getaway cars, but she had discovered a purpose for still being here.

* * *

After gathering a few spare nuts and bolts, Mona cleaned the grease off of her hands and left through the door that connected to the kitchen. She gathered a large bag of cat chow from beneath the sink and a few bowls she had forgotten to put in the cabinet after washing them. Hearing the rumble of food in the bag, several cats appeared from various parts of the house, like ninjas. Klunk, the little orange kitten, appeared first as usual. She was always hungry, and being the smallest cat Mona had, she hadn't yet outgrown her playfulness and replaced it with laziness like the older ones had, not that Mona was complaining. She poured the food, then refreshed their water bowl as they dug in. Part of her knew that it was foolish to waste money on cat food, but she couldn't stand by and see these animals starve. At one point, Mona had been like the cats. A stray. Nobody wanted her. So she did whatever she could to make sure they had full bellies every night. Some had even decided that the gas station was a pretty nice place to stay after all, and stuck around. Mona had the tendency to feed the stray dogs as well, but from a distance. Whenever dogs saw her form, they usually growled and stalked away, though she still threw them scraps. This was why she liked cats better. They had a silent anger, something she could appreciate more.

She returned to the garage, leaving the doorway open and observed her work.

"Motorcycle, done."

She walked past it, to the Hummer across the room. (The genius didn't know it needed oil.)

Done.

A kid's scooter lay against one of her tool racks. It's payment, a handful of Jolly Ranchers, sat beside a few of her wrenches. It just needed a new tire. She had decided to make it a priority since it was a little kid.

"Done." She spoke, rather satisfied.

She picked up a few of the cherry flavored hard candies, they had always been her favorite, and put one in her mouth. Klunk was now at one of the garage doors, her claws digging into the side. A simple "meow" told Mona that she wanted out.

"Fine." She sighed, slipping the rest of the candy into the front pocket of her dress. This new dress was similar to the one she wore on the boat that night, just a size larger. It even covered up some of the yellow coloration on her chest and stomach, although there wasn't much she could do about her tail, it was awkward from the beginning. It always would be.

"But hurry up, okay?"

Klunk scrambled under the slight crawl space and into the night.

The time on Mona's portable radio in the corner read 1:30. Her eyes were sore, and no doubt, red. As soon as Klunk got back inside she was going to bed.

"Donnie! Look! A kitty!"

Or not...

Heavy footsteps trotted up to the garage door, and Mona's hands flew to the walls, climbing above to eavesdrop and get out of harm's way. She could never quite determine if she was a salamander or lizard. Maybe a combination of both. Likewise, she had never needed to use a weapon, but if they hurt Klunk or they tried breaking in, well, there was a first time for everything. Other footsteps followed.

* * *

"Mikey, just leave it alone." Donatello replied, bored. "It obviously has an owner."

He watched as his brother sat on the ground with the small, orange kitten in his lap. It was purring and Michaelangelo's eyes were wide, starring down at the tiny creature with the same puppy-dog look he used to manipulate his brothers.

"Isn't it cute though?" He questioned, holding the kitten up for his purple-clad brother to see.

Donatello's expression never changed, even when the cat tilted its head to the side and meowed. It wasn't that Donnie didn't like cats, he just had this conversation several times with Mikey already. Master splinter wasn't going to let him have a pet. Raphael was lucky enough that he got to keep Spike but, then again, Raph did prove more responsible than Mikey. What part of that didn't his brother understand?

"Adorable. Let's go before somebody sees us."

"You're such a killjoy." His brother protested. Donnie only rolled his eyes as Mikey sat the kitten down. Eagerly, it ran back under the space in the garage. Mikey stood in time for Raph and Leo to jump from the building above. Apparently they had gotten Donnie's message.

"Okay. We're here." Raph replied, attempting to sound amused. His tone and expression only fell. "Why?"

Donatello signaled toward the garage behind them, ignoring his brother's typical sarcasm.

"This is where I've been tracking the Purple Dragons." He explained. "They get their cars fixed here."

"They get their cars fixed at a garage. Good jo , Donnie. We never would known without you." Raph quipped. This time, Donatello shot an irked look at his brother. Raph knew what he meant. Still, Leo decided to spell it out.

"He means this is where they _mainly come_ to fix their cars, which is why we need to keep an eye on the place. If we wait around long enough, we're going to catch something. Right Donnie?"

"Exactly." Donnie nodded. "It's similar to the Flytrap effect. We lure them in, they land, and we have them." He pounded his fist into his hand for emphasis. Leo and Raph gave a nod for agreement, Mikey only scratched the back of his neck.

"Um...let's say a certain member of the team, _not mentioning names_, didn't know what a Flytrap was. What would you do?"

Donatello let out a sigh, while Leo rolled his eyes and Raph face palmed.

"A _Venus Flytrap_ or Dionaea muscipula as it's scientifically known, _Mikey_, is a plant that attracts flies by giving off a certain scent. The plant is shaped like a mouth, and when a fly lands in the center of the plant to search for whatever it is that's causing the scent, it closes and holds the fly hostage until it secretes juices to digest it. Once finished, the plant's mouth reopens to start the process over. Get it now?"

_No._

"Yeah. Awesome." He held his fist in the air and pumped it slightly. "_Yay for attraction!_"

"You have no idea what I just said, did you?" Donatello deadpanned.

"Nope." Mikey admitted. "You lost me at the diarrhea mucus thing."

"It's not..." Donatello tried holding it in, he tried being patient with his brother, but it didn't work. Not this time. Raph stood by and listened to Donnie and Mikey argue, at least until Leo tried to break it up. In turn, all three were now fighting. It was a nice change to sit back and watch the dispute. Usually he started all of the arguments.

Growing bored, Raphael's eyes started wandering around the gas station, noting out possible routes and weak spots. Behind his brothers, the door to the garage was slightly raised and light flooded from inside. As he looked up, he could see another face starring at him from the thin window a few feet above it. Noticing his gaze as well, it ducked from sight. It had seen them for sure, but had it heard their plan?

"Guys." Raph started.

"Would you just listen to me?" Leonardo protested.

"Guys."

"I AM NOT!"

Donatello.

"Guys!"

"Yeah? We'll your momma is so ugly neither Jacob or Edward want her on their team!"

Leo and Donnie paused, shooting a glance at each other.

"Wouldn't that make her your mom too, genius?" Donatello questioned.

"I don't need your past movie references!" Mikey shouted with his hands to the side of his head, almost as if to block out the memory. "That was a dark time for us!"

"GUYS!" Raphael finished, making sure the other three heard him.

"WHAT?" They yelled in perfect unison.

"We're going. Now."

The no-nonsense tone in Raphael's voice quickly alerted them that something was up.

"What's..." Leo started, but Raph held up his hand to silence him.

"I'll tell you when we get far enough away from this place."

Leo nodded, understanding. Trust him. He signaled for his brothers to head out. In seconds they were climbing the building. Mikey ran, tripping over some kind of metal tool that he hadn't seen in the dark.

"Crap." He muttered, He had always been the fastest of his brothers, but this had set him way behind.

He began his descent upwards, his skateboard unknowingly falling from his holder. It crashed against the concrete below. He was too far away and too hight, attempting to catch up to notice it had fallen at all.

* * *

**I was originally going to write more to this chapter, but I've been working on it for two days now and it's one o'clock where I'm at. So you'll get Mona Lisa's P.O.V and hopefully, Raph's confession, next chapter. And yes, one of Donatello's lines is a throwback from the CGI Ninja Turtles movie. Yes, this is Raph X Mona Lisa and yes, Mikey would be a closet Twilight fan. Happy reading. :)**


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

**Revelations**

* * *

So the stories were true after all. Mona wasn't the only mutant in New York. She jumped from her spot on the wall and grabbed a set of keys. Not long after the first gang members had come to retrieve their van, Mona had insisted on replacing most of the old locks with her own. As she was about to bring the door down, she saw the skateboard on the sidewalk. It had landed and tipped over, revealing the three neon-orange wheels and the light gray one, still spinning from its owner's departure.

_Neon orange and grey._

_Gross._

She brought it in, laying it on one of her work tables. Searching in a few drawers and her mixture of bleach and water at the sink in the corner, the area where she sterilized most of her parts from the dump before she worked with them, she managed to find a matching wheel. It was slightly scratched and had seen its better days, but it would run and it was nowhere near as used as the grey one. Mona absolutely hated when things clashed with each other. It was colors and patterns than annoyed her the most, neon orange and dull grey, plaid and polka dots, black and brown, pink and red, etc.

Klunk stalked over and plopped down at Mona's feet as she worked. The small kitten lay on the floor, the concrete floor probably felt cool against her thick fur. Her tail moved rhythmically and in tune with her purring, keeping Mona company. It was nice to have. Those many nights after her mutation were lonely. Her friends. Her family. All of them were ghost to her now. If Mona didn't have Klunk or the other cats, she probably would have lost her mind.

Finishing the wheel replacement, Mona stalked over to the door and sent it under. If the mutants found it in the morning, awesome! She spared them from an ugly color combination. They _would _be back, no doubt to ruin her business and chase away her customers like they had suggested they were going to do. Maybe one of her younger customers or one of the teenagers would take it when they came to get their ride. If they did, it wasn't her problem. She was only responsible for everything _inside_ of the garage. (And it would be a slight revenge toward the four mutants for their stakeout threat.)

_But what if they were dangerous? _The thought had only just come to her.

It almost seemed ridiculous! She dealt with criminals on a daily basis. Why did a quad of mutants seem so intimidating? She was a mutant, she wasn't dangerous. _Was she? _Her slight sarcastic demeanor and ability to lie and manipulate had come in pretty handy in middle school, a lovely parting gift from her time of being a Friday Night Halftime Queen. (Her attitude didn't get the better of her much, but it did on occasion.)

Was she just blindly judging them like so many humans had done when they saw her? Was that the only part of her humanity that was still in tact? They didn't try attacking the store. They seemed like they had no idea what they were doing at all, she had noticed that from the arguing. She had also noticed the pose belonging to one of the mutants. She couldn't see his face, most of his form was hidden by the darkness. Just enough was revealed by the sloping streetlight that she could tell he was a reptilian mutation. A turtle. She couldn't see the others, they were in complete darkness as well, but she assumed they must be similar in form. The one turtle stood by, listening to the others argue and seeming so out of place. _He_ looked _intimidating_. His face finally turned, revealing the bright Jade eyes that seemed to glow in the dark, like the way a cat's did. She ducked, expecting her secret to be discovered, and was relieved when he lured the others away. For the moment, she was still safe.

If anything, _he_ was the one she should worry about. If only she could get a good look at him to know what she was up against.

Several of her customers had given her weaponry as payment, as mentioned before. She had weapons hidden all over the house. A sharp, long blade rested on one of the lifts above her right now, hidden from anybody's knowledge other than her own. A set of ninja stars sat among the scattered parts in her drawers.

She never had a break-in before, but the next time the mutants came, she would be ready in case something happened. She wasn't running away this time. She was tired of running away from everything. Locking the doors and doing her nightly check, she collected Klunk. The sun would be rising in an hour and she had a few traps she needed to set up before she could go to bed.

* * *

The boys, usually so swift and silent in their escapes, didn't stop running until they got back to the lair, their quick huffs filled the living room as they entered.

"Okay." Leo started, pausing to catch his breath. "We're back. Now what did you see?"

Donnie and Mikey shot their brother a curious look as well, wondering why they had suddenly fled the scene. Raph began to explain.

"Back at the garage, somebody inside managed to see us. Probably not a big shock, given that we were near street lights and you three were yelling."

All three were responsible for the incident, but the focus fell on Donnie and his momentary lack of better judgement. He never made mistakes like that!

"It probably would have made more sense to meet at another building and point the area out." Donnie admitted.

He sunk to the ground, upset that he had unintentionally put his brothers in danger. The gas station was usually closed around that time. He hadn't noticed that the lights were still on until Mikey found the kitten. By then he had already sent the message to his brothers via T-phone and they showed up not long after.

"Hey, it's okay bro." Mikey gave his brother a light punch in the shoulder and sat on the floor beside him, a weak attempt to cheer his brother up. "We all make mistakes."

"Oh yes." Raph added. "And no doubt, he'll make plenty more in the future."

"Is that suppose to make me feel better?" Donnie demanded. His expression changed from disappointed to annoyed. Did Raph have to point out every flaw they made? Yes, he had an ego. Why couldn't he just let something drop for once? Mikey and Leo knew he made a miscalculation in his plan, yet they weren't holding it against him.

"No." Raphael replied curtly. "Just stating the obvious."

Donnie shot a lingering, dark look at his brother. Without saying a word, he rose. Mikey scrambled out of the way, not wanting to get in the middle if the two started fighting. Which, if Raph and Donnie fought, it probably wouldn't be a long fight. Leo, seeing this too, inched forward in case anything got out of hand. But instead of throwing the first punch, Donnie turned and walked in the opposite direction, away from them.

"Donnie...where are you going?" Leo called, wearily. Seeing Raph simmer in his own anger was common. Whenever Donnie was upset and didn't want to talk it out, well, worlds were about to collide.

The purple clad turtle only made a quick signal over his shoulder, letting the other three know that he was done talking. He was headed in the direction of the tunnel that held the Shellraiser and his lab. For a second, Mikey wanted to run after him, but he knew by now that whenever Donnie got upset like that (which was rare) it was better to let him have his space. It was better to let him work on one of his inventions, blow off some steam. Behind him, Leo stalked up and gave Raph a quick, disapproving shove.

"Why do you always have to mess with him like that?" Leo demanded.

"Like what?"

Leo signaled to where Donatello had just disappeared.

"Like..._that_." He quipped, for a lack of better words.

"I'm just being honest." Raphael pressed. "So Donnie found the main mechanic. Awesome. That guy saw us, and he's going to warn his charges about the "strange mutant turtles" whether he overheard our plan or not. This was suppose to be an easy mission. It's not going to be anymore."

Raph was right, as much as Leo didn't want to admit it. It_ wasn't_ going to be easy. Missions were never easy, but usually Raph was all for dangerous, action filled part of them. Lately, Leo had noticed that Raph thought more about his brothers before he jumped into these adventures. Just because Raph might be able to do something, there was no guarantee that Donnie, Mikey, or Leo could do it as well. Leo had a hunch that it had to do with Mikey getting hurt a week back, when Raph had tried his hand at being leader. He discovered that leading wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Leo just wished his brother would think about what he said before he opened his mouth. What was it Master Splinter has said awhile back? The pen was mightier than the sword? The quote had to do with written word, but Leo still felt the message applied. He sighed.

"I'm going to check on him." He left, ending the conversation.

Mikey continued to sit, even when Raph turned and headed toward his room. He always hated when his brothers fought, like...actually_ fought._ Not the quips and jokes they always shouted at each other when they were goofing around, but when they were upset. _Mad. Fighting. Angry._

_It's my fault they're doing it anyway,_ Mikey thought bitterly. He never should have asked Donatello what a Flytrap was or argue with him about it. He should have just ignored the kitten when he saw it, it was going to go back inside anyway. He quickly shook the thoughts off, he couldn't allow himself to get in one of his moods. Maybe skating would clear his head. Reaching toward the back of his shell, he searched for his skateboard.

It wasn't there.

* * *

Raph usually trained for a few minutes between missions and bedtime, mostly with the punching bag in the far corner of the living room. Unless he decided to bring Spike along, he was mostly alone in this process. But as he returned from his room with the smaller turtle perched on his shoulder, he caught a glimpse of the lost look on Mikey's face. He looked upset (and somewhat confused, although that really wasn't uncommon.) Carefully taking this into consideration (several times, actually) he called out to his brother.

"Mikey!"

The orange clad turtle jumped, turning to his brother with a shocked, almost guilty expression on his face.

"Do you want to..."

_It's not to late to back out,_ the voice in the back of his head challenged.

"partner with me?" He asked.

Raph held up one of his Sais up to further validate his request. Mikey, looking a little happier, nodded.

* * *

When Raph asked Mikey to partner with him, it was something more along the lines of "hold the punching bag if I asked, and sit quietly if you weren't." Mikey didn't seem to mind though. Sitting on the couch afterwards, he offered lettuce to Spike whenever the small turtle slowly finished chewing the piece prior. It was a tiring process, especially for a kid that never wanted to sit still. He had observed how Raph took care of Spike on occasion, and tried to mimic his style. Raph himself looked back every now and then. It was mostly to make sure that Spike wasn't strapped to a pair of rocket powered skates, something he didn't doubt Donnie would create. And something he knew that Mikey would steal if he got the chance. What was it with his brother's obsession with getting a pet all of a sudden? Finally, Raph grew bored. That was the thing about punching bags. They didn't fight back, not even verbally.

Slowly, Spike's jaw moved, chewing the lettuce in tedious bites. Raph jumped over the back of the couch and landed facing Mikey, Spike sat in the middle of the two. For a few minutes, the brothers didn't say anything. Beside them, the television blared the events of some horrible reality show where the contestants had to face obstacle courses that even Raph thought were cruel. Once or twice, while Raph was still at the target, he had demanded for his to brother turn the volume down, only to have his request ignored. The two simply sat now, the only sound being the events of a contestant splashing into the water after a giant, mechanical fist knocked him into it.

This isn't right, Mikey couldn't help but think. It was Raph and himself. It shouldn't be so quiet in here. That was something he would expect from Donnie and Leo, his _boring_ brothers. He got up and made his way to the kitchen. Raph didn't even seem to notice. His gaze was focused on the television, but his eyes had glazed over, revealing that his mindset was somewhere else.

After a few minutes of searching through various pots, pans, silverware, and china, most of which made loud clangs against the floor from Mikey's failed attempts at catching them, he finally remembered where he had put the thing he was looking for. Grabbing it, he darted back into the living room.

"Cookie?"

Raph looked up, breaking away from whatever he was thinking about to see his brother's peace offering, a pack of cookies with caramel.

"Sure." He replied, apathetic.

"April brought them yesterday." Mikey explained after Raph had taken a few. "They're not exactly pizza, but I thought they were pretty good. So I kind of...didn't tell anybody about them."

"Hid them behind Sensei's teacups?"

"Yup."

"Good job, buddy. And you're sharing them with me because..." His brother inquired.

Mikey only shrugged. Another silence fell between the two as they ate. It wasn't a secret that Mikey was the best cook in the house. The kid had a passion for it. He pretty much knew what happened in the kitchen at all times and where everything was. His other brothers pretty much knew that this was his domain and usually avoided Mikey when he was in the kitchen, other than getting a snack or sitting down for meals. In a way, it gave Mikey an excuse to experiment with food and eat whatever didn't meet his standards. (Or, in some cases, try to pawn it off to one of the others.) He had even started gaining more weight since they installed everything and the guys discovered human food, but the extra softness seemed to suit him more. Even so, Mikey could be scatterbrained sometimes and it wasn't a surprise for him to lose things, his sanity included. Raph couldn't mention the times he had walked past the kitchen within the past few months and found Mikey depressed and drowning his sorrows in chocolate pudding. But deep down in his mind, Raph knew he was sharing the cookies with him because...

"Idon'tthinkyoushouldhaveyelledatDonnie!" Mikey blurted out, then slapped his hands over his face. It had just come out, he didn't mean for it to.

Yep. Just as he thought.

"What did you say?" Raph challenged.

"Nothing! I..."

"What did you-"

"NOTHING!" The orange clad turtle panicked and flinched when his brother stood.

Raph dove at him. While the two wrestled in the background, Spike turned and made his way toward the cookies that had been slung from Mikey's hand once his Raph attacked. _Slow and steady wins the race._ The two continued to fight, becoming a twist of arms and noogies until Raph finally managed to put Mikey in a headlock, his fist gnawing into his brother's cranium.

"Okay! Uncle! Knock it offffffff!" Mikey whined.

Raph released his grip, and Mikey jumped at his freedom. He stood now, starring at his brother that lay on the ground, laughing. Raph wasn't mad at Mikey, he merely liked messing with him. He assumed Mikey would catch on to his act but, apparently, that was giving his brother's intelligence too much credit.

"Leo was right. You do take things to far." Mikey accused. He slapped his hands over his mouth again, not wanting the discussion he had overheard Leo and Donny having earlier in the week to slip either. He _really_ needed to work on that.

Raph slowed his laughter to a few chuckles.

"Aww, sad because you lost little bro?" Raph taunted.

"No!" Mikey shot back, although that was partly true.

While the boys had been born at the same time, Mikey had hatched last. Leo was oldest, followed by Raph and Donnie. Mikey was the smallest, the most naive and immature, and had the baby face. Hence ther term "little bro" had been coined to him.

Raph only began to snicker again, noticing his brother's frustration. Crossing his arms and pouting slightly, Mikey dropped to the floor like a child. His blue eyes had been glaring before in an annoyed manor, but now they were slowly glazing over into sadness, an emotion the teenage turtle always tried his best to hide. Finally, after a few moments of silence, Mikey spoke.

"Raph, am I dumb?" He questioned.

"On occasion." He smirked.

Mikey's eyes darted down again. That wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"Where is this coming from?" Raph questioned. He stood and made his way toward the punching bag again, giving it a quick punch on his way to one of the arcade games. Mikey trailed behind him.

"Just wondering."

Raph switched the game on, pressing buttons as the virtual creatures on the screen drew nearer. Both knew that they should be in bed by now. Their Sensei had retired not long after the four got home. Donnie marched by an hour or so later, saying nothing to the two but carrying some type of large wiring back to his room. Lastly, Leo came. He only shot a look at his brother while Raph took his frustrations out on the human shaped target. Like Donatello, he walked by without a word.

"For what it's worth Mikey, no, you're not dumb." Raph replied. Mikey's eyes darted toward his brother. Had he just...given him a compliment?

"Granted, you make a few dumb choices, but not everybody can be as perfect as me."

Okay, good. He was back.

Turning, Mikey pretended to stretch and yawn.

"Well, time to go to bed." He said, walking toward his room.

_Act natural. Act natural. There's no way he would notice if you..._

"Oh, and Mikey." Raph called again, never removing his eyes from the game. Mikey spun.

"Yeah bro?"

"When you sneak out to get your skateboard tonight, I'm coming with you. Just thought you should know."

It was almost as if Mikey's jaw hit the floor.

"I...but...how...how did you...when did you...HOW DID YOU KNOW I LOST IT?" He demanded.

"One, you didn't have it when we entered the lair. Not exactly brain science."

Mikey scratched the back of his neck. Heh_._

"Two, you start acting fidgety. More than usual. Donnie first noticed that one A _long _time ago, And three, you just asked me how I knew." His tone instantly became smug, making Mikey's face turn red. He HATED when his brother tricked him like that.

"You're not right about everything!" Mikey protested.

"Not everything." Raph replied. He shut the game off, his character dying by it's enemies hands. Turning now, he leaned against the game and faced his brother, his arms crossed. "Just most things."

Instantly, Raph's eyes drifted behind Mikey to the couch. The pack of cookies the duo had earlier was now being invaded by Spike. The small turtle raked them out, chewing them with the same, slow process he had done before with the lettuce. _Should I be concerned or not_, he wondered? It was almost funny, as slowly as Spike chewed, Mikey could turn around at any moment and save his precious cookies. Instead, he only faced his brother in annoyance. He didn't even seem to notice Raph's focus drift past him.

"Can I just get my board?" Mikey demanded.

Raph signaled toward the main entrance.

"After you."

Mikey spun on his heel and stalked toward the door, paying no mind to the couch. Spike even looked up at him on the way past, as if it were the most casual thing in the world. Raph followed behind, snickering at the situation. He took one last look at Spike. He would be perfectly fine on the couch. With as many cookies that were left in the pack, he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Ahead, he heard Mikey call to him.

"You know, one of these days you're going to meet somebody that can match you!"

"I doubt it!" He called back.


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

**Face Off**

* * *

"Good job getting us into this mess." Mikey spoke.

"Shut. Up."

It had been his brother's only reply for the past ten minutes. Being caught upside down in a snare was enough to make anybody irritable. Their attacker, the guy who ran the garage (who the guys quickly discovered wasn't a_ guy_ at all upon being trapped) leaned against one of the cars, casually filing her nails with one of Raph's Sais.

"You know, I'm kind of disappointed." She replied, checking over the tips of her hands for imperfections."I mean...I expected there to be _some _kind of fight. It didn't even have to be an epic one, it could have just been a quick scrap. It was almost like you guys didn't expect me to make a way of protecting myself. At all."

"We did..." Mikey's voice trailed off. "We just didn't expect it to be right inside the door."

"Typical guys." Mona scoffed and continued to file.

"Trust me." Raph asserted. "If I would have been with one of my other brothers, we wouldn't have gotten captured so easily."

"Yeah!" Mikey protested, but soon realized what Raph said. "Hey!"

Mikey couldn't do much suspended in mid-air, especially not without his weapons, but that didn't stop him from ramming into his brother's side. Raph returned the favor. Soon, it escalated into a slap fight between the two. Mona only stared blankly from the sidelines. It seemed like they were going to destroy themselves eventually. In the chaos, Klunk wandered into the garage and pranced up to Mona. Even if the duo were slap-fighting, all it took was for one slight _mew_ and Mikey's eyes turned.

"KITTY!" He yelled, despite the situation.

Mona picked Klunk up, one hand under her kitten's legs and the other around her stomach. With that, she held the squirming fur ball up to Mikey.

"Her name is Klunk." Mona quipped. "Named after the sound some of these engines make before they leave. I think you two have already met. I'm Mona Lisa by the way. I mostly go by Mona though."

"Hi Klunk! I'm Mikey. Remember me?" Mikey said to the tiny kitten. He took it from her hands and held it closer to his face, allowing the kitten to lick him. Beside him, Raph only rolled his eyes. They were captured by some mutant lizard teen and, again, all Mikey was concerned with was a kitten.

"You really need to sort your priorities out." Raph spoke. His comment went ignored.

After they found Mikey's skateboard outside, which Mikey couldn't help but hug to his cheek and lovingly stroke, Raph decided to find out who the phantom face in the window had been. It wasn't even an attack, just an investigation. The duo soon found themselves face to face with the owner after the snare had caught them and the lights flickered on. It wasn't what they were expecting.

Now the duo were at the mercy of the thin, green and yellow, lizard girl. Her hair was brown and curly, and was pulled back in a pink ribbon. Her eyes were large and Amber colored.

"She seems to like me." Mikey replied.

"She has a habit of liking everybody." Mona replied. "That's why she stays in trouble so much."

She sat Klunk down. The kitten disappeared into the house seconds later, much to Mikey's disappointment. In his typical fashion, he quickly perked up when more questions for the lizard girl filled his mind.

"Soooo...you're a mechanic?" Mikey asked.

She was a girl, she liked cars. She was cool! His gaze drifted around the shop while he asked, as did Raph's. The room was a mixture of black and chrome. Two lifts sat above their respectful pits that revealed a small level below the ground. One of the lifts was occupied by a dark, red car. Various other cars sat around the shop, squeezed wherever they could fit, some of which were a black van and a motorcycle. Little bicycles and scooters sat next to the door that led inside the store. Next to that were two cabinets where Mikey could only assume she kept her tools. Beside that was a long table and on the other side of the room sat a sink. Above, a catwalk wrapped around the room.

"One of the best in New York." Mona addressed proudly, holding her hands out with a slight bravado.

"Were."

Mikey and Mona's gaze drifted to Raphael.

"You _were_ one of the best mechanics in New York." He repeated.

"I _AM_." She challenged, her mood suddenly darkening.

They met each other's gaze, both frosty enough that Mikey felt a slight shiver creep down his spine.

From his belt, Raph pulled a hidden ninja star. It was similar to the ones that Mona had hidden within the room. With what looked like no struggle at all, he tossed it. It bounced off the metal and chrome of the garage, leaving sparks, until it finally collided with the rope that suspended the two. Raph flipped, landing ready to fight. Behide him, Mikey collapsed to the floor with a yelp. His eyes left from the lizard girl and gave his brother the once over, just to make sure he was okay the way good brothers were suppose to do. He would be fine, and because of this fact, Raph continued his mission. He couldn't let this girl see weakness.

"This place is crawling with criminals." He asserted, his eye drifted to one of the Sais the girl held in her hand. Instantly it was in his, and it happened so fast that Mona wasn't even sure how to react. "You've been helping them, we know. And it has to end. Today. If you shut this place down, we'll leave you alone. If not, you won't see the last of us."

Who did he think _he_ _was_? He had trespassed on_ her_ home._ Her only home._ And now was threatening her if she didn't shut it down. Where was she even suppose to go, anyway?

"Let me think about that." She replied, tapping her finger to her chin and pretending to take a moment to consider her options. "No."

Grabbing his outstretched arm, which held one of the Sais, she had managed to flip him In one quick motion. Again, it was something she had picked up from years of cheering and petty cheerleader fights. It had surprised even her to catch this guy off guard. He and his brothers were bumbling, but it was obvious they knew more about combat than she ever would. Whatever the reason, he didn't seem to appreciate it either. His expression told that.

Thinking quickly, Mona did what many wise people did when faced with an opponent they couldn't take down. Run.

Mikey was up, had collected his weapons, and saw everything. This girl might have been cool, but his brother came first. He charged toward her. Within the last second, Mona skidded to a halt and managed to grab the edge of one of the lifts and hoisted herself up. Mikey, missing his target and hitting the edge instead, turned in time to collide with her foot. He was knocked backwards. For a second, Mona felt a little sting of guilt at hitting him. Her arm fumbled for the long blade she had hidden. Just as she found it, she felt the presence behind her. _He_ was behind her, his Sais raised. She spun onto her back, trying her best not to fall through the gap in the middle. The blade was in front of her now, aimed directly at his throat. Mikey was about to rush up, but froze once he saw how badly this could end up for both of them.

Moments passed, Mona and Raph stared each other down, no movements at all. Finally, Mona spoke.

"You're not taking my home."

She could see a tiny flash in his eyes, but they remained emotionless.

"This is all I have. If I have to go down with it, I will. Anything would be better than being back on the streets and being treated like a freak like before."

She saw him straighten, his expression softening. Something she had said had struck a nerve, and why wouldn't it? They weren't normal humans. None of them. Hadn't they been treated poorly at one point? Didn't they have to stay in hiding? Wasn't there a home that they cared about? A place where they could return everyday and not have to worry about society? She had seen them on the news. They protected the citizens of New York. Why couldn't she have her garage and be confined to that one space? She wasn't in public, she wasn't doing harm. Yes, she exchanged with gang members, but she fixed other people's vehicles as well. It wasn't about the customer's background, it was about _her_ fixing their cars.

Nobody had ever attacked her place before tonight, but _they had_.

They were suppose to be the _good guys_.

In his hesitation, Mona managed to use her tail to knock Raph's legs from beneath him. He fell with a start, which was really more surprise from being caught off guard than from pain. Mikey descended on him.

"Are you okay?" Mikey was full alert, grabbing his brother's head and legs to check for injuries. Raph only slapped his hand away, though Mikey could see the area around his left wrist was starting to swell. As Raph had fallen through the gap, his wrist had hit the side at a weird angle.

"Peachy."

Mikey stood, a glare directed toward Mona. His brother was hurt. Friendship terminated. He was about to charge again, before Raph stopped him, his good wrist on Mikey's shoulder.

"Lets just go." He said.

"What? You can't be serious, dude." Mikey exclaimed. From her spot on the lift, Mona now stood. Her arms were crossed and the single blade, Mikey recognized it as a Katana blade, stuck out from beneath one of her arms. "You're letting her get away?"

Raph? Raph was giving up? It wasn't like him, but then it dawned on Mikey what must have happened.

"Oh man! You must have hit your head worst than I thought!" His hands and eyes went to the side of Raph's cranium again, as if all of his medical questions could be answered by staring into it. "We have to get you home! Now!"

_So they did have a home,_ Mona noted.

Raphael pushed his hyped up brother away.

"There's nothing wrong with me. And she _didn't win_." There was another glare between the two, Mona's eyes narrowing. "And she's not going _anywhere_. "

The rage that Mona had suppressed was finally coming out as Raph stood and followed Mikey to the door.

"You know, if you two were smart, you wouldn't come back at all!" She snarled.

"Oh, you can bet we'll be back!" Raph spun and matched her tone. "And we're bringing friends."

He was implying that they would be stronger with Leo and Donny, four trained ninjas against one girl who had struck it lucky. And this girl had nowhere else to go. She would be right there when they got back. Mikey nodded. He grabbed Raph's arm and led him toward the door, his brother broke from his grasp again. He wasn't a little old lady crossing the street. He could walk home by himself. It was just a sprain based on his own dumb luck.

A stupid sprain that Sensei and his other brothers would see. A stupid sprain that pretty much revealed that they had snuck out past curfew. A stupid sprain that would slow him down in training. Fan-_freaking_-tastic.

"Yeah! Because we are totally_ not smart_!" Mikey protested, wanting to add his own flavor to the fight.

If the situation was different, Mona might have smirked at Mikey's slip up. Not now. Her face remained stoic, borderline frustrated. You could tell she was choking back tears. Of course, Mikey didn't seem to notice.

"What I meant was..."

Raph grabbed him, pulling him through the door. Once she knew the two were out of sight, the only sound being a slight scrape of Mikey's skateboard against the sidewalk as he picked it up. She sunk back down to the lift. The hot tears silently fell down her face.

This was so _not_ according to plan.

* * *

Mikey and Raph managed to get a block away before Either said anything. The duo walked rather than roof jump. It would take longer, but Mikey insisted, knowing that it might be painful for his brother to climb.

"You need to get ice on that thing. Fast." Mikey noted.

"It's fine." Raph grumbled. "I've been through worse."

Mikey grabbed his hand and held it up, revealing the darkening areas.

"No. It's not." He insisted. "And it's still an injury. No matter how small, Sensei always says to pay attention to your wounds."

Raph only drew it back.

"Where am I going to get ice, Mikey?" He flared. "Oh, I know! I'll just walk into that store across the street and buy an ice pack with my imaginary money. Nothing strange about a mutant walking around in broad daylight. Right?"

In the distance, Mikey could see the lights of a twenty-four hour super center. A few cars were still parked in the parking lot, a young woman was even headed toward her own car.

Their thoughts ran back to what the lizard girl had said, about being treated like a freak. If they were human, everything seemed like it would be so much easier. They could buy medicine and food and go out without having to hide from the judgement of those hundreds of humans that would hate them for no reason. They could go to school, make friends, they could even get jobs and make money so they could hang out on Saturday nights With other people. They could go to regular school, like April. Out of the four, it had always been Mikey's wish that he could fit in with humans the most. It had to be better than how they were living at the moment. It had to be easier. At least they wouldn't have to resort to stealing something whenever one of their brothers got hurt.

The guys never stole anything unless it was an emergency and even then, they knew it was wrong and never really liked Mikey to see them doing it. They had dubbed him the innocent one because he was a little naive. But that didn't mean that Mikey was stupid. He could put two and two together. Things didn't just show up at their house at random.

The thing about it was, Raph could be so stubborn that he wouldn't let Mikey steal anything, even if his wrist was swelling. It could be hard to see unless you were around him long enough, but it seemed like Raph cared about his family more than himself sometimes, which wasn't always a good thing. He would avoid doing something if it would leave a lingering affect on his brothers.

Raph's sarcasm and brutal honesty were back at least, so that was a good sign.

Turning his head, Mikey searched around, trying to get a feel of where they were. Did Raph even know where they were going? Finally, he recognized a certain landmark.

"Do you think you can handle a few flights?"

"More than that. Why?"

Mikey headed toward one of the fire escapes and signaled for his brother to follow. Looking up, Raph realized where they were.

The apartment that belonged to April's aunt.

* * *

Technically, April wasn't allowed to have food in her room. That had never stopped her before. A late night soda and candy binge might be just what she needed to complete this essay that was due for her English class on Monday. With a licorice twist in her mouth, she steadily typed. One of All Time Low's finest blasted from the radio beside her bed, the volume lowered from her usual preference so her aunt wouldn't know she was still awake. Still, the volume was high enough that she didn't hear the tapping at her window until she turned and saw Mikey making faces at her, his breath fogging up the windows. Rolling her eyes, she got up and walked over.

"You know, I really have to start setting a limit on the time you guys can visit me." She asserted. "I'm serious. I've got an essay to write and three pages of math to do."

"Sorry April, but this was an emergency." Mikey explained.

Raph finally appeared beside him, climbing from the ladder below. Mikey, Donny, and Leo visited all the time, but Raph rarely made it a regular thing. This was part of the reason she was so surprised to see him here.

"What's this all..."

"Okay! So we met a girl, right?" Mikey started.

April didn't give him time to finish his sentence. Her blue notebook collided with the side of his face, practically spinning his orange mask around.

"And let me guess. She's in the Foot Clan." Hadn't she already had this discussion with Leo?

"What? No! She's some mutant lizard chick that kicked Raph's butt."

"Thanks Mikey." Raph muttered.

"Oh...okay then." April replied. She wasn't sure where Mikey was going with this.

"And we need ice. See?"

He grabbed Raph's arm, below the sprained area, and held it out. It didn't take a genius to see the damage.

"Yow. That's pretty bad."

"Tell me about it." Raph added, dryly.

She took the hint, dropped her notebook on her bed, and grabbed the can of unopened soda on the computer table. It was still cold from its time in the fridge.

"Just put this on it until I get back, okay?"

She tossed it and turned, only to hear Mikey cry out. Biting her lip, she turned back.

"Maybe...two ice packs?" She suggested at seeing Mikey holding his eye.

"I'm okay with it." Raph shrugged.

Rolling her eyes again, April disappeared behind the door. Raph merely plucked the can from Mikey's hands. He had made it this long without an ice pack, a few more minutes wouldn't make any difference. Besides, he was thirsty.


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

**Solutions**

* * *

The past few days had been emotionally tedious for Mikey and his brothers.

As predicted, Raph's injury slowed down his training. He had placed extra wrapping around his hand, hoping to disguise the bruises, but it didn't do much to help. If anything, it just made Leo and Donnie all the more suspicious. The two hours of sleep Mikey and Raph had gotten that night only further complicated things. Mikey actually fell asleep on the floor, although he noticed that none of his brothers went out of their way to wake him up. They were probably happy to get those few minutes of silence. Seeing their lack of coordination as well, Sensei held Mikey and Raph after training and quickly discovered everything that had happened the night prior. Rather than patrol that night, the two were to stay in that evening and practice what had neglected that afternoon. This was how Leo and Donnie found out about the secret. Leo went solo that night, probably to meet up with the mysterious Karai girl. Donnie had stayed in his lab for most of the evening.

That was Tuesday. Now it was Friday and things hadn't gotten much better between the four brothers. Donnie still seemed bitter about Raph's criticism earlier in the week. In turn, this only caused him to disappear whenever the guys weren't in training or on patrol. While Donnie hadn't shown any aggression or annoyance, gladly taking a look at Raph's injury and determining that it would heal within a week, the tiny amount of communication he directed toward Raph was kept strictly formal. For the past few days, Donnie seemed absent-minded. In his,typical fashion, this distraction usually meant that Donnie was planning something or making possible, mental blueprints for a new invention. The gang finally determined the reason for Donatello's odd behavior that Friday afternoon after training.

* * *

"_Antonio...I'm leaving you...for your brother..._"

Click.

"_And remember children; 80% of stairwell accidents happen in stairwells..._"

Click.

"_Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, __Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles..._ "

Click.

"_Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!_"

Click.

As Leo continued to flip the channels, Mikey planted his head on the floor and released a groan that sounded similar to a dying cow.

"Ohmygosh! There is NOTHING. ON. TODAY!" He whined.

Leo couldn't agree more. He sat on the couch beside April and had been channel flipping for the past hour and a half. Well, he and Mikey had. April held her science book open and scribbled a few notes down every now and then. Homework had been killing her lately, but it was nice that she decided to hang out with them while doing it. With school, her training had been limited to the weekend and a few late evenings. But surely, it was paying off.

Donnie sat in the kitchen, a few metal parts and circuits lay on the island around him. Raph had been in his room for most of the day, but each time he came into the kitchen or living room, he could see that Donnie's gaze was fixated on April, almost entranced. Whatever it _was_ he was working on, it wasn't getting done. Sparring himself the expense of seeing his brother twirling the screwdriver in midair one more time, he stalked over and pushed Donnie's head down. With a start, Donnie was brought out of his trance and now had his mind focused on the task in front of him again. Satisfied, Raph grabbed a soda, made his way into the living room, and quickly found a spot on the couch between Leo and April. Mikey lay on the floor in front of the T.V., his hands holding up his head. His skateboard lay in front of him. During commercial breaks, Mikey entertained himself by spinning the wheels.

"Wait! No! Leave it there!" Mikey demanded suddenly. Leo stopped channel flipping as the scene played before them.

_Saw the whole thing, dude. First you were all like "whoa", and we were like "whoa", and you were like "whoa..."_

_What are you talking about?_

_You, Mini-Man, takin' on the jellies. You've got serious thrill issues, dude. Awesome._

_"_Man, Crush is like...my spirit animal." Mikey admitted.

"I guess that makes sense since you're both...turtles." Leo noted as he sat the remote down on the table.

Mikey considered this, then shrugged. He won battles, not wars.

Beside them, April gathered a few papers and closed her notebook. She was done and, thankfully, her weekend was clear of schoolwork.

"Is your hand any better, Raph?" She asked.

Breaking his attention away from the T.V., he looked down at his hand. The purple bruises were fading into a dank yellow, almost difficult to see on his green skin unless a person really looked for them. The embarrassment from the incident washed over him again. Leo took notice of it as well, causing Raph to avoid his brother's gaze. He knew they would have to discuss the matter soon, possibly sooner than he wanted.

"It's fine. Believe me." He replied.

It seemed like the eighth time this week that he had spoken the sentence. April got the hint. Giving a nod, she sorted through the papers she held.

"So...I got my essay back guys. Want to see it?"

"Um..." Leo started.

"No." Raph deadpanned.

"Yeah, April...What teenage guy would want to read an essay?" Mikey questioned.

From the kitchen, Raphael and Leo could see Donatello's head perk up. Raph silently counted down on his fingers. 3...2...1...

"I DO!" Donnie called.

With a few wires and spare screws flying and clanging against the floor, Donnie was in the living room within seconds and striking a wannabe "cool-guy" pose against the side of the couch. There was nothing. Just April. Everything else in the world was cut off for him at that moment.

"Saw that coming." Raph muttered.

Leo gave a silent snort at his brother's comment before he met Raph's gaze again. His thumb jarred toward the kitchen. Nodding, Raph headed that way. Mikey, seeing his brothers leaving, grabbed his board and decided to join them as well. Whenever Donnie was around April, it was usually a painful thing to watch. The three entered and Raph sat down at the table while Leo grabbed more sodas from the fridge. Mikey ran around the side and joined him, gathering a few slices of pizza that April had brought with her when she arrived. Carefully, Leo sat the cans down and sorted through a few of the small pieces of machinery that Donnie had left behind. Acting as if the circuits weren't there, or just not caring, Mikey slammed his board down on the table while nibbling his pizza. Leo, flinching at the thought of Mikey breaking some of Donnie's gadgets, soon let it go. Mikey pulled a stool up next to Raph and leaned back.

"So...what exactly is he making?" Leo asked.

At least twenty small, circular, dome-shaped devices sat on the island surface. Leo held one up, examining it.

"Contact lenses._ For a robot_." Mikey suggested, with more bravado than needed.

His comment only earned a quick jerk at the tails of his mask from Raph. Although, the things _were_ the size of a contact lens, Mikey was right about that. All had thin, flat backs. Some had hard, mesh domes and others had solid black domes with a small, flashing red light.

"Who knows." Leo spoke as he sat the gadget back down. As his voice trailed off, Raph picked it up with more important matters.

"So why did you call us here, oh-fearless-leader?" Raph questioned, slight taunt in his voice.

"I think you know, but you're not going to enjoy what I'm going to ask."

"You want to know about the garage fight?"

There was no drop in his voice. No nonsense.

"Bingo." Leo replied.

"Okay." Raph shrugged.

Instantly, his hands went behind his head as he leaned the chair back. He propped his feet on the island, making sure to avoid Donnie's gadgets. Sitting on the stool opposite of the two, Leo listened as the two explained the story, from both of their perspectives.

"And, like a complete wuss, I decided that it would be better for us to head back when you and Donnie were with us. But when I got to thinking about it, I...kind of didn't want to tell you." Raph finished. "I had a feeling that you would be mad and I didn't want to hear your nagging for the rest of the week, but the longer I hid it, it only got worst." He paused. "And...I kind of felt embarrassed."

"Did you feel embarrassed because you were beat up?" Mikey asked, strings of cheese dangling from his mouth.

_He just couldn't let it go, _Raph thought, taking his feet off the counter and sitting up. He met Mikey's smirk with his glare.

Like Raph, Mikey had leaned back in his chair, the only difference being that he didn't hold on to anything. He was at the complete mercy of the two chair legs that balanced him. Mikey's head turned back to Leo, waiting for a reaction to what he had said. Silently inching his foot out, Raph positioned it under the closest foot of the chair, causing Mikey to fall backwards with a surprised yelp. Maybe_ that was_ the reason Raph had been feeling so iffy about the situation. Maybe it wasn't. Either way, Raph didn't appreciate the comment. Leo let out an impatient sigh upon finding out Mikey was alright.

"Can you two stop fighting for, like, one minute?"

"Nope."

"Probably not." Mikey said, pulling himself up from the floor.

At least they were honest.

"Okay." Leo shook it off. "I'm going to say my part now. And I want you both to listen. Understood?"

"Yup."

"I'll consider it." Raph replied as he mentally prepared for the speech that his brother was about to give for the next hour.

_Here it comes._

"Okay. Raph...I'm proud of you."

His expression fell.

"You're what?"

"You are?" Mikey echoed beside him. Leo nodded.

"_In a way._ I mean, you were in a tough spot and you decided that calling a tie would be better than further endangering Mikey and yourself. That's pretty good judgement."

Raph and Mikey's faces still remained blank.

"On the contrary, heading into an unknown territory and attempting to apprehend a villain by yourselves kind of erases the whole "good judgement" thing. In fact, it was pretty _stupid,_ if I do say so myself." He gave a small chuckle. "But you two are in luck because I've been talking about the situation with Sensei and Donnie and, looking at it from another perspective, Sensei pointed out that maybe she...isn't a bad guy. Maybe it's just some big misunderstanding."

"She fixes. Gang. Cars." Raph said. "Pretty sure I understand that."

But, for the most part, the guys respected Master Splinter's judgement, so he continued to listen.

"Well...true, but didn't you guys say that there were a bunch of little kid bikes inside?"

Mikey nodded.

"Right by her tool shelf. I noticed it when we were hanging upside down and she let me pet Klunk." He replied, proudly.

"She has kiddie wheels. So?" Raph flared. What the heck was Leo getting at?

"_So_, unless she's leading a secret cult of Preschoolers and teaching them to rob the ice cream man, I'm pretty sure she's not actually in a position that endangers the little ones." He responded.

It made sense.

"Sometimes April passes by the garage on her way to school." Leo continued. "She's explained that she's never seen anybody enter or leave the building during the day. Not even in the evening. The cars are there, they disappear before the sun rises, and then they're perfect and sitting out front again a few days later. There's limited contact, if any at all. But she does see a few people tow their cars there and leave. People you wouldn't normally see associating with each other. They don't hang around the area. In fact, Donnie managed to temporarily hack into the city jail's web base and it never mentions there being a fight on the property." His voice trailed off.

"We also discovered that Dexter Spaceman's middle name is Cornelius, but that's a different story."

"Heh, Cornelius." Mikey laughed.

"So, wait...she's just...there?" It dawned on Raph. He had been wrong. Very, very wrong. Everything was tying together now.

"_And_ she's _nonviolent_. Like Donnie explained earlier in the week, she's a prime repairmen for the people nearby. It's implied through the streets to leave her alone because her rates are lower. They _need_ this girl. They can't afford to lose her." Leo shrugged. "Who knew that bad guys made exceptions?"

Mikey could barely hold his excitement.

"Told you she's one of the good guys, bro." Mikey taunted. He gave Raph a slight punch on the shoulder. Raph's head was down and focused in thought. Mikey didn't seem to notice. "That's why she fixed my skateboard wheel." He grabbed his board and held it up for emphasis, before he slammed it down on the table again. "This is awesome! A female mutant!"

"No, Mikey. It's anything but awesome." Leo replied.

An aura of confusion washed over their baby brother.

"Think about it." Raph started. He picked up from where Leo left off, having a good idea of what his brother was thinking. "She's an unaffiliated mutant. She not one of Shredder's goons like Dogpound or Fishface or Blaster Spockman. She's not with the Kraang. She's not with the Purple Dragons. She's not a solo villain like Snakeweed or Spider Bite, but she's still surrounded by gangs and it seems like she knows a good bit about machinery. She'd be a useful ally if they manage to convert her."

"No offense, dude. But she seems better than that." Mikey noted. "Maybe she's like Leatherhead. Or Pete."

"Either way, it's probably best that we get her on our side." Leo added. "It's one more ally. Not to mention that if we can find some way to use her home for spying, we can learn a lot more about the criminals around here." He explained. "Now, on a scale of one to ten, how bad does she despise you two after Tuesday night?"

"A strong six?" Mikey guessed.

"Two hundred eighty-five."

There was another pause.

"So pretty much I do the talking, right?"

"Sounds good to me." Raph shrugged.

In the living room, they heard Donnie call to them. Leo slid out of his stool and followed behind Mikey. Raph brought up the rear, but turned back and picked up another one of Donatello's gadgets. What _were_ these things, anyway? The guys filed in not only to see Donnie sitting next to April in Leo's former spot on the couch, but Sensei as well.

"Her essay is actually really great." Donnie spoke.

"Indeed." Sensei agreed. "It appears Ms. O'Neil has more to say than she shows."

Their father had read it?

"Okay, I'll bite." Leo announced. "What's this essay even about?"

Donnie passed it over to him.

"Basically, we had to write an argumentative essay on a controversial topic. You guys were kind of the inspiration behind it. It's mainly about pollution, toxic waste, and the effects it has on the environment. My late night candy and pop-punk binge managed to pull me an A+. Not to mention that my friend Irma started an online petition."

"If I was your teacher I would have given you an A++." Donnie insisted.

"Thanks Donnie" She replied. "I think." She pulled her legs up on the couch. "So what were you guys talking about in the kitchen?"

"We're thinking about getting the lizard girl on our side." Leo replied. He flipped a page and continued to skim her essay.

By now, Raph returned from the kitchen. He held a few of the gadgets and was fiddling with the buttons on the back. What did it matter if Donnie missed two or three? He had more. Not to mention that playing with his toys was the number one way to annoy his brother.

"I think the lizard-chick said that her name was Mona." Mikey added, remembering their conversation that night.

"Mona."

April spoke the name suddenly. Her gaze drifting down, almost as if she were remembering something.

"Something wrong?" Leo asked.

"No...I just know that name from somewhere. There use to be a girl at my school named Mona. But that couldn't be possible. She died in a boat accident a year or two back. The entire school system had a memorial and everything."

"Was her name...Monalisa?" Mikey asked, suddenly recalling the name. "But she just went by Mona?"

His eyes widened, a look of worry filling them.

"Yeah, she...Monalisa Gonzalez!" April realized. "The half Latina girl on the cheerleading squad. Brow hair? Brown eyes? She couldn't swim so everybody just assumed that she drowned, but they could never find her body. Do you guys think..."

"It's too big of a coincidence not to." Donnie began. "The question is...how could she have mutated?"

"The boat had been in the bay for weeks. A few of the middle school kids decided to have a party on it."

"Always smart." Leo noted.

"I wasn't there back then, but Irma was. She was telling me about these robots and a weird blue glow that came off the boat..."

"Kraang."

"Mutagen."

"Exactly what I was thinking." April replied.

"April, if we go out there, we need you to come with us. You knew her, right? Maybe you can help us find out what happened to her after the explosion or be the voice of reason in case she won't listen to us."

"I'm your girl." April acknowledged, knowing how serious the situation was.

The conversation pretty much ended there. The gadget that Raph was playing with slipped from his hands and landed on the floor. A loud, pitch siren pierced their ears and brought their hands to the sides of their faces.

* * *

**1.) I'm super sorry for the lack of updates. This chapter gave me more trouble than I expected.**

**2.) Next chapter, we return to Mona's garage, meet a new character, and discover what Donnie's inventions really are.**

**~Peace**


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

**Bugged**

* * *

"You know, Mona. I don't think I'm ever going to understand your music." Angel began.

The fifteen year old sat at the kitchen table, constantly switching CD's in an attempt to find something that wasn't pop related. With no avail, she finally gave up, took the current CD out, and settled for a radio station that played heavier rock. From the counter, Mona shot a sideways glance at her just as the song switched into a guitar solo, followed by some form of untranslatable shouting and banging drums.

"Trust me. The feeling is mutual."

With that, Mona sat a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk down in front of the purple haired girl.

"Cookies." Angel noted. She seemed almost surprised, but picked one up and dunked it nevertheless. "I thought you hated cooking."

"I do. Consider it payment for keeping me company this afternoon." Mona replied.

With that, she pulled a chair opposite of her only human friend, then lay her head down on the table. Was it even possible for someone to be this tired in the afternoon? Below her, Klunk and another black and white kitten she had dubbed Dumpling rubbed against her leg.

Apparently, it _was_ possible.

With a sigh, she dragged herself to the cabinet to search for the cans of wet cat food she had stored. As she opened the cabinet, her eyes widened. A spider stood next to the cans and stared blankly at her. It blinked, almost as if the situation was slightly awkward for him. Angel was completely unaware of the situation until Mona shrieked and backed into the sink, knocking down a few Styrofoam cups and a bottle of dish washing liquid in the process.

Within seconds, Angel had her trusty pocket knife out and was ready to attack. The neighborhood where Angel grew up wasn't exactly the best. When she was really young, her grandmother's house was robbed while she, her dad, her little brother Ryan, and her grandmother were out at a parent-teacher conference. Her dad had given her a pocket knife a few days later for protection and insisted that she never travel to and from school alone. Her grandmother even insisted that two boys from the neighborhood, Casey and Danny, walk with her. She had protested at first but the annoyance quickly faded as the three became friends and promised to have each other's backs. On the other hand, five years later, the fear of things going bump in the night had made drawing the knife almost an instinct for Angel. She was never one for second guesses.

"Kill it! Kill it with fire!" Mona shouted. She was now balanced on the edge of the sink and was almost hysterical.

Seeing that there was no visible attacker, the blade casually slid back into the pocket of Angel's black jeans. Walking over to the cabinet, she peeked in and rolled her eyes.

"Really? A spider?" Angel shot an amused look at her friend. "It's not even deadly. It's a daddy long legs. We see them all the time at our house."

"Hence why I don't come over to your house." Mona noted.

"Yeah. The whole mutant-lizard, people-hating, cat-lady thing has _nothing_ to do with it." She smirked.

Mona's face fell into a look of sheer annoyance. It was her house. She was the only one allowed to use sarcasm.

"Just kill it." She half-demanded, half pleaded.

As much as Angel loved animals, even spiders, she couldn't find it in herself to kill it. Grabbing a napkin, she held it below the edge of the cabinet and shooed the spider toward it with her hand. Once it fell onto it, she headed toward the back door.

"Seriously. You're not afraid rats or snakes, why are you so afraid of bugs? They're smaller."

"Yeah. Smaller." Mona replied. Seeing her enemy was gone, she slowly slid off the sink as Angel passed her. "Tiny. You can't see them or know where they're at. They're more likely to catch you off-guard. They're one of the only things I _am_ afraid of." She protested, then as an afterthought added, "and drowning."

"That last ones actually understandable." Angel noted. She opened the back door and flung the spider out. It quickly scrambled and took refuge under a pile of crates and old tires. As Angel looked up, her eyes fell onto the garage roof. Ducking back in and closing the door, she walked to her friend.

"Do you have any other mutant friends that I should know about?" She questioned.

"What?"

Angel pointed toward the window. As Mona stalked over and drew the curtain back, her familiar annoyed stance came back.

"Great._ Them_ again."

* * *

"You're sure that these camera and microphone things are going to work?" Leonardo questioned.

He and his brothers stood on the roof of Mona's garage. The darkening sky, filled by rain clouds that New York had become so commonly know for, hung overhead and threatened a downpour.

"You mean the ones that Raph _didn't stab_?" Donnie questioned.

As soon as the mini-microphone hit the floor and the sound went off, Raph's sai shot out and completely demolished the thing in panic. After another dispute between Donnie and Raph, Donnie quickly explained the purpose of his inventions and how they functioned.

"Hey! I said I was sorry." Raph protested.

"No you didn't!"

"Well, I was considering it!"

"Ladies, ladies. You're both beautiful." April spoke from the side, a weak attempt at calming the situation.

She sat beside Mikey on the edge, her feet dangling just above the door.

"Yeah dudes, can we just go? The sooner she's done throwing things at us the better."

Nodding in agreement, Leo, Mikey, and Raph jumped. Donnie held back and shot a sympathetic look at April. Slowly, he held his hand out.

"You know, one day I'll have enough experience that I don't need you guys to carry me anymore." She grinned.

"Until that day comes, you'll just have to get used to it for awhile." He replied, a slight smirk coming over his face.

The duo landed seconds later between the door and a large truck, hoping that it would shield them from the incoming traffic. Cautiously, Leo walked up and attempted to lift the door. Locked. The four could easily break it if they needed to, but given the circumstances, a more polite entrance was in order. He knocked. When that got him nowhere, he did it again, louder this time.

* * *

On the other side of the garage, Mona and Angel stood starring at the door, Mona glaring.

"It looks like you have a few secret admirers." Angel smirked.

"_As if_!" She replied, almost in disgust. Seconds before they arrived in front of the door, Mona had grabbed the Katana blade off of the lift. She now thrust the handle into Angel's hands. She was a blade girl after all, wasn't she?

"I'm going to see if I can find anything sharper. Use that if they get in."

She stalked back into the house. Angel waited for her friend to disappear before she decided to pull off her prank. She set her blade down beside a pile of crates (Mona got them at the junkyard and used them to sort parts.) Grabbing the keys off the nail on the side of the wall, she quietly unlocked the door and stood on top of one of the crates. She placed her hand on the wooden ladder against the wall. This had to look convincing to work.

"Come in!" She called.

There was a moment of silence, as if the guys were unsure if they should enter or not. Maybe it was the fact that they didn't recognize her voice that made them linger. Seconds later, the door came up and the familiar scrape of the wheels above echoed throughout the room. Angel took that as her Que.

* * *

Leonardo caught the purple-haired girl before he even realized what had happened. She fell from the side, knocking over a few crates. Behind her, a ladder came tumbling toward them. Raph caught it, making sure that it didn't hit Leo or the others. Forgetting the current mission, Leo placed the fallen girl on the ground as April and his brothers descended around them.

"Is she okay?"

"What happened?"

"Did she fall?"

"No duh, Mikey."

"Hush!" Leonardo demanded, before turning back to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She replied, weakly.

"What's your name?"

"Angel."

"Is there anything we can do? Do you need us to take you to the hospital?"

"No. I'm fine. I just have this condition called Green Flapjack..."

Her voice trailed off, silence and disapproving looks quickly taking it's place. Raph, who was still holding the ladder, shoved it to the side and let it fall with enough sass to make a teenage girl jealous. It was the only movement between the five until Mikey's eyes went wide.

"I don't even know what that is!" He shouted in panic.

"Uh, Mikey..." Donnie's voice began, before Angel's interrupted.

"Maybe you should look it up." She suggested.

"Good idea."

His T-Phone was out and he was off, trying to find a signal before his brothers could protest. Not being able to stop him in time, the glares all returned to Angel. If she only knew what she had _just done_.

In the doorway, Mona had now returned with a pair of hedge clippers. Her eyes were wide as she saw her friend on the floor, the turtles towering over her. Leo, looked from her to Angel, then back again, quickly discovered Mona's thinking process.

"This isn't what it looks like!" He protested, although it was no use.

Mona charged, the clippers out, and the guys quickly scrambled. April stood beside the door, watching the entire scene. She knew from experience at her school not to get involved with another angry female, especially one that was a former cheerleader and had a weapon. Her mind raced, thinking of a plan. Angel was now on her feet and wrapped her arms around her struggling friend, chuckling. Apparently, this humor was _hilarious_ to her. Raph, Leo, and Donnie circled around the two, drawing their weapons and preparing for a battle behind the girls. After a few seconds of holding her friend back, Angel was able to calm her friend down where she could logically function. Mona stood facing the guys, her weapon pointed toward them, almost as if it were a warning signal.

"Mo, it's cool. I pranked them, that's it." She attempted to soothe.

It was clear that the realization came over Mona from the look on her face. Throwing the clippers down, she spun to face her friend.

"You _WHAT_?" She demanded.

"It was just a joke. Just calm down."

Mona's arms shot out, and Angel found herself colliding with the floor, a surprised look on her face. Sometimes it was hard to remember that Mona was,_ indeed_, a mutant. Her strength easily surpassed that of a human's.

"When you make me mad, then tell me not to get mad, guess what? It only makes me more _mad_." Mona replied matter-of-factly.

"You know, I think I'm starting to like her better." She heard Raph whispered behind her. Leo elbowed him in the ribs.

"And _you_!" She accused, spinning and aiming a finger toward them and marching over.

April decided that now would be a really good time to reappear. She jumped between Mona and the boys, her arms held up to shield the guys. Instantly, Mona skidded to a halt, recognizing the red-haired girl.

"April?"

"So you remember me." She smiled, relieved.

"Of course. You and Irma were the last people at school I talked to before..."

Her eyes drifted to the side. April knew that Mona's mind was drifting back to memories. Memories she shouldn't be having. She put her hands on Mona's shoulders.

"It's okay. Nobody is going to hurt you."

Mona's eyes darted past her, focusing on the guys.

"They're friends." April replied. "We're just here to make amends, then we'll leave after we tell you what we have to say."

Mona never knew April well. They were just two girls that went to the same school and had English and Science class together. If Mona didn't have the squad constantly correcting her every flaw and thought, she would have easily been friends with her. Sam was the queen bee on the team, the one who pretty much ran the school and squad. She never ignored an opportunity to make other girls' lives miserable, including April and Irma's. She was the girl Mona disliked the most. Breaking into the school, turning off the security cameras, picking the lock to Sam's locker, and hooking up a device that made red dye shoot at her face (Mona's own invention) had almost been_ too_ easy. The next morning, when Sam went to her locker after being particularly smug to the two girls, the dye exploded. It was predicted that her skin would be red for the next three days.

Afterwards, the girls seemed almost amazed that Mona could be so intelligent, acting under the cover of a ditz. It was almost as amazing as discovering that she hated most of the girls on her squad, the very reason she pulled the prank in secret. As Mona put it, it would be a shame for her teammates to drop her by _accident_ during practice, especially since she was the designated flyer. It also meant that Sam wasn't going to the boat party that weekend.

_Probably a good thing,_ now that Mona thought about it.

Likewise, the two never really knew Angel that much. She was the girl that ran with the delinquents or the theater kids. To everyone else she was pretty quiet. To others, she was mean. To Irma, who had been with her in theater at the beginning of this school year (until she dropped it after discovering her schedule overlapped with the school newspaper) Angel had been pretty cool. Mostly, she hung out with two guys that lived on her block. (The street itself wasn't that far from Mona's home. April wondered how Angel had even become friends with the lizard girl in the first place.)

"We're just here to make you an offer." Leo said. He was the leader, he felt that he was the one that needed to say this.

Mona still didn't trust the guys. But she trusted April. Right now, that was good enough for her.

"In the house. You try anything, you're gone. Understood?"

"We won't. Scout's honor." Leo replied, giving her a salute.

"Uh huh." Mona muttered, unconvinced. Her eyes darted around. "Where's the little one?"

A shrill scream came from outside.

"OHMYGOD!"

They turned toward the garage entrance.

"Found him." Raph noted.

He headed toward the door, prepared to drag an almost-paralyzed Mikey back through it. Donnie and Leo headed into the house with April in tow. Mona stayed behind. When Raph came back with Mikey, who has completely frozen in shock over his discovery, Mona had helped Angel up again. The two girls were now hugging, a look of regret on Angel's face.

_Man,_ Raph thought. _Girls are weird._ _First there's a catfight. Now they're friends again._

As he dragged his brother, he happened to catch some of their conversation.

"It's okay. I've got to go now anyway." Angel spoke.

She shoved her hands in her hoodie pockets and started to leave.

"You know that guy you hang out with?" Mona called after her.

"Which one?"

"I don't know." She scoffed. "The one with the face."

"Casey?"

"Whoever. His bike is done when he decides to come get it."

Mona's hand signaled toward a red and black motorcycle on the other side of the room. The thing looked new. The curve of the outer coating revealed how aerodynamic it would be on the street. Fast. Not to mention, it was shiny.

_Really, really, shiny,_ Raph acknowledged.

"I'll let him know." Angel replied, then disappeared.

* * *

Mona insisted that the guys finish the cookies that Angel had left. Leo and April did so willingly while Donnie explained their proposal with the cameras and microphones.

"So there's absolutely _no way_ they can be traced back to me?" Mona questioned, eyeing one of the small, dark cameras.

"No, not through tracking devices." Donnie replied, his mouth full of the cookies. He paused to swallow. "But statistically speaking, if the wires are crossed or they were damaged, its possible that an alarm may sound off and alert the driver. But the ones I brought are functioning properly. Nothing to worry about."

He could see that Mona still wasn't convinced when she sat the mini video camera back down. Behind him, Leo and Raph shot each other a look, remembering that Mikey had tossed his skateboard on the table.

"Won't they see the light?" She questioned.

"It depends on where we hide it on the car. We were mostly going to use the microphones and place the cameras behind the tires to observe street patterns. The devices have a three day lifespan. By the time the guy goes in for his next tune-up, they'll be useless devices and I'll have the footage backed up on my labtop at home."

_His_ next tune-up?

"I feel the need to point out to you that women can also be criminals. In fact, they're more difficult to find because they take more time to hide the evidence. You know, since you're leaving an entire gender out of your conversation and everything."

The guys looked oblivious. Mona only sighed.

"Do what you need to. Just make sure nobody comes looking for me."

Grinning, Donnie picked up his microphones and cameras and headed back to the garage.

"You won't regret it." He said, sprinting through the door. Mona quickly rose up and followed behind him, having to point out which cars belonged to baddies and which didn't.

"I'm sure I will, but for right now I'm just going to roll with it." She muttered once Donnie was out of earshot.

"We really _DO_ appreciate this Mona." Leo replied.

"I'm sure." She smirked, before her expression turned serious. "My busiest day is Friday, it's when I have the most vehicles in and out. So Friday evening or Saturday morning is the best day to come by if you guys need to."

Turning, she picked up her pink notepad and an equally pink, glittery pen and scribbled something down.

"This is the number to the store. Do me a favor and call first. _Please._ I need my beauty sleep."

Raph muttered something beside Leo. Whatever it was, Leo and Mona ignored it, knowing that it was probably a smug comment.

"Call first. Got it." Leo replied.

"Be good 'till I get back boys." She practically purred, before leaving to catch up with Donnie. April, thinking the situation over, decided that she wanted to see the cameras in action as well. Not to mention that somebody needed to be there in case Donnie got electrocuted (which Donnie would find a way to do. He always did.) Once the girls were gone, Leo sat back down at the table and looked at Raph.

"Well?" Leo inquired.

"Well what?" Raph demanded.

"Don't you owe somebody an apology?"

"I'm sorry about your face." He replied, flatly.

"Not what I me...what's wrong with my face? Nevermind don't answer that!" He quickly added, seeing Raph hold up a finger and open his mouth. For a moment he had slight nostalgia from where Leatherhead grabbed Donnie's face. Leo let out a quick, frustrated sigh. "Just do it. Please! It'll put us on good terms with her."

"Why do I have to be the only one to apologize?" Raph yelled, his temper taking over. "Mikey was there too!"

"Mikey _will_ apologize. But in case you haven't noticed, he's kind of...out of it right now."

The duo shot a look at their little brother. The whole time he had been sitting there, he was quiet. A sure sign (for him) that something was wrong.

"Green Flapjack...it's...it's..."

"Deep breaths, Mikey. Deep breaths." Leo spoke and massaged his brother's temples. Anything to calm his brother down. He remembered the first time he had been tricked into looking up the aforementioned term. Compared to how _he_ reacted, Mikey was taking it pretty well.

The guys sat there until Mona came back a few minutes later and alerted them that Donatello was finished. Saying their thanks, the guys headed out. The storm clouds earlier had escalated into the downpour they predicted.

"Oh, great." April muttered. She pulled her yellow over-shirt over her head to shield her hair. In actuality, she could care less. She just didn't want Raph to dub her Count Frizzula for the next two weeks. Leo turned to look at Raphael, who had fallen behind.

Leo's eyes warned Raph about the conversation they had minutes earlier. Sprinting, he headed off to catch up with April and his other brothers.

Raph simmered and crossed his arms. He_ really_ didn't want to do this, mostly because he wasn't good with apologies or mushy, emotional crap in general. Mona, noticing him and crossing her arms as well, stood her ground. The stared each other down, never breaking gaze.

"We'll be in touch." He spoke, then walked past her.

It came out of his mouth before he even knew what he was saying.

"I'd like to say I look forward to it, but I don't." She replied.

He left, her words flying over his head on the way out.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

**Aftermath**

* * *

Due to certain circumstances, the group had limited contact with Mona for the next three weeks. This contact was only over the phone. Donnie called twice to reschedule the day he was coming over to switch the cameras out. Leo called once to make sure that she was holding up well, knowing that it was the nice thing to do and to let her know that they hadn't forgotten about her. Things had just come up that they hadn't been emotionally or physically prepared for. It was April and Karai's fight and Timothy's mutation mainly, although he spared her the details. By the end of the conversation, she had all of their T-Phone numbers written down and a promise that one of them would be out there within the next week.

* * *

April sat on the edge of Donnie's work table, the gelatinous blob that was formerly The Pulverizer stared back at her. Behind her, Donnie was in front of the Shellraiser, changing the oil. Patches of black coated his face. In a way, they almost matched the bruises that coated April's own body. As much layering as she wore, it was difficult to tell if she had any more injuries beside the ones visible on her arms and face. Donnie considered it a more personal question and hadn't really bothered asking, common sense winning over his wonder. She could still move her limbs and nothing was broken, that's all that mattered at this point.

"I just feel so sorry for him." April admitted suddenly.

Donnie broke his gaze from the Shellraiser, only to close the hood and stand there for a second. He wiped his hands on a spare rag in an attempt to get the oil off. Seeing, knowing actually, that it wasn't working to remove the stains, he merely tossed it on the ground. A moment of silence passed between the two as Timothy, now nothing more than a collection of organs, shifted slightly in his tank.

"I feel like I could have done more to save him." Donnie admitted. He walked over to them, his arms wrapped around himself. "We_ all_ could have."

April chuckled a little. It wasn't from amusement, but instead it was the type of laugh one would give when a dark situation had some form of irony behind it.

"After what you did to your brothers, I think they_ will_ do more next time." She admitted.

After they brought Timothy back to the lab, Raph, Leo, and Mikey couldn't help but crack a few jokes. They were all oblivious to the guilt that Donnie felt, Donnie himself included. Finally, he just snapped. April, who had her mind on her own problems for the past few days, was able to hear Donnie from the living room. He's had freakouts before, but the amount of rage in his voice was something foreign to them all. It wasn't annoyance rage, but bloodlust rage. Once or twice she had considered going back there to see if she could calm him down. When his brothers came back to the living room quiet, pale-faced, and wide eyed, she decided against it. The guys quickly discovered that they had really_ screwed up_ and remained silent for the rest of the night.

The next morning, after their studies, the five met in the training room. Donatello had been silent for the entire study session, as were his brothers. He looked tired, and April could tell that he had nightmares that night. Still, he somehow managed to take all of his brothers down in combat that afternoon, replying with the simple response of "Who's next?" Mikey was first, followed by Leo, which was the real shocker. Finally, despite their size difference, he managed to pin Raph to the ground and actually resorted to punching, as Raph made the most remarks about the situation. It took all three to drag Donnie off and Leo alone to calm down Raph. Sensei ordered them both to leave the room until they cooled off.

April was amazed at how out of character Donnie seemed that day, but it was safe to say that none of his brothers spoke about Timothy as if he were a joke any more. Were they going to bounce back and start again? Most likely. But for the moment, they were too stunned. Yes, Timothy was dumb for what he did. Yes, he could be a buffoon. But Donnie had spent the most time with him, took him in as a student and, amazingly, as a friend. He had his chance to stop it and didn't. His actions were pretty much everything he left unsaid that day.

Donnie sunk to the ground beside her, ashamed of everything he had caused. He had _never_ attacked his brothers outside of training before. He was usually the level-headed one in the group, next to Leo. But he had been was so emotionally drained. They all were. Maybe everything that had escalated up to this point was finally getting to him. Slowly, he pulled out his T-phone.

"There won't be a next time." Donnie asserted. "Ever."

He began to punch in numbers. April pulled her legs to her chest at the bitterness in Donnie's last word. She paused only long enough to take a look at the former human boy in his prison before she lay her head on her knees.

"He went to my school, you know." April replied.

Donnie paused at her words. What she was saying wasn't making him feel any better, but it was something that she felt he needed to know.

"I didn't talk to him much, though." She admitted. "Come to think of it, I don't really talk to many people at my school at all. But I know he got made fun of a lot. He didn't even realize it half the time and kind of just laughed along with them. At least, I think he didn't. He had a girlfriend too, believe it or not. She's almost as crazy as he was. She's really pretty too." Her voice trailed off. "He was a senior. He would have graduated this year."

"And now he won't. And it's all my fault." Donnie spoke.

_I ruined his life._

He felt her hand on his shoulder.

"It's not." She insisted. "You can't control somebody else's decisions. You did what you could."

Somehow, to Donnie, it didn't feel like enough.

"Have you talked to your aunt or Irma lately?" Donnie asked, changing the subject.

T-Phones couldn't be traced, Donnie had quickly discovered. April would be in hiding with them for awhile, but she still needed to check in on her friends and family. Losing her dad was bad enough. She didn't need anything else on her mind. If Donnie had to be taken away from his brothers, no matter how mad he was with them at the moment, he would lose it. Although, Donnie couldn't help but think that these calls were one of the reasons why she had been so down lately. Sensei and his brothers weren't even aware that she had been in contact with them. It had been a secret between April and himself.

April welcomed the topic shift.

"I've had to limit my calls to my aunt to once a day. She starts crying and begging for me to come back every time. She's even called the cops. Don't be surprised if my name flashes on the news soon."

"At least you'll get your fifteen minutes of fame, I believe that's how the saying goes."

"Totally." April agreed, although the slight lackluster in her voice revealed her discomfort at the thought. One of her legs came back down and she let it hang off the side of the desk. "As for Irma, I've gotten her to understand that I need to be away for awhile, she just really wants to know why."

"I'm kind of surprised she wasn't hiding nearby when you went to get your stuff. You know, so she could find out where you're hiding."

"Ditto." April replied. "Knowing her, she'd probably hide in the dumpster, pop out, and tell me that I've been a horrible friend."

_She's a better friend then I've been,_ Donnie thought bitterly.

Although, he didn't know too many teenage girls that would sneak out late at night, break into their friend's room to get her things, and then text her so that she could make plans on where to leave them. They had settled on a dumpster near Murakami's restaurant. There was no sight of anybody nearby when she and Donnie had gone to retrieve her things. Not to mention that, for whatever reason, Irma had called April's aunt beforehand to let her know that she was coming. When April's aunt flared up, Irma faked like she was going through a tunnel. This only lead to Irma sneaking into April's room through the window above the fire escape. She could only grab a few of her things. She focused mostly on her shampoo, hairbrush, clothing, and the like which she stored into one of April's huge beach bags. In addition she snagged April's mp3 player, her wallet (which she slipped a few twenty dollar bills into, in case April needed food) her portable radio, the stuffed turtle she had ever since she was little, a yellow throw-blanket, a few of her favorite books, and her scrapbook. Irma also promised to keep up with the schoolwork and see what she could do to help April catch up when she got back.

She explained her entire plan through a text with April. Not to mention that the warehouse was a block away and she was carrying everything on foot.

In _New York_.

"She's a good friend." Donnie noted.

"The best." April replied.

It seemed as if the mention of her name was enough to cheer her up. Another moment of silence passed between the two.

"Sensei asked that I train with him in a few minutes. Leo and Mikey are going to help." April explained.

Donnie's eyes glazed over, the same way they did when he was in serious thought.

"What about Raph?"

"I don't know." She replied.

He took this into consideration, then began dialing a number into his phone again.

"Who are you calling?" April questioned.

"Mona. I've got something I have to do tonight and I have to reschedule again." He explained. "That, or I have to send Raph to switch the cameras out. I'm positive that he's not going to be to crazy about that idea. Not to mention that I still have surveillance footage that I need to go over tonight. "

April nodded and stood, knowing that it was a private conversation between the two. She paused to take another look at Timothy. She wasn't around when the guys first met him, or even when he mutated for that matter. But it seemed amazing at how much grief his transformation had caused Donnie. In the back of her mind, April knew that Donnie wouldn't rest until he found a cure. He still thought the entire thing was his fault. He thought he was a bad friend. He wasn't.

"Hey, Donnie." April called.

He turned. The tone at the other end revealed that he had just pressed dial and the phone was now ringing on the other end.

"You'll find a way. You always do. Trust me on this."

A small grin came to his face at the belief she had in him. April left the room, hearing a faint "_Hello_" before she shut the door to the lab.

* * *

**I know this isn't long. Hopefully the next chapter will be, I just wanted to bring the story up to date with the current episode. I also might have mentioned that Mikey would have a big hero role in this chapter. I've had to move it back. Also, I may start shortening chapters for faster updates. :3**


	7. Chapter Seven

**Dedicating this chapter to Ob3y-tmnt on tumblr. If it wasn't for her, I probably would have given up on this story months ago.**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

**Have Faith In Me**

* * *

"Man, Beast Boy's voice is so annoying." Mikey protested, before flipping the television off.

Raph, who was sitting beside him on the couch, shot a glance at his brother before he returned to his comic. Mikey sat with April's school folder in his lap. Knowing Mikey, he was probably just doodling between commercial breaks. April didn't even mind him taking it. She definitely wasn't going to be using it for awhile. Leonardo was in the kitchen, preparing Ramen for them before a late training session began. Looking up, he gave a small wave to April as she walked in, which she returned before she glanced at Raph, her expression turning suddenly serious. Stalking up, she grabbed the comic out of his hands.

"You_ really_ have a death wish, don't you you little..." His voice trailed off as he discovered who the accused thief was. "Oh. It's you." He almost sounded disappointed. "Give me my comic back."

"I will. But I have something I need you to do first."

At that point, Mikey gazed up from his paper, noticing the conflict.

"Oh snap! April versus Raph. Crap is about to go _down_!"

To emphasize his point, he whipped out his T-Phone and pressed the 'toilet flush' sound effect on the app he had downloaded. Who knew? Maybe it would come in handy one day. Raph himself glared at April. Was she seriously_ challenging_ him?

"What is it?"

"Donnie has something he has to do tonight. Mikey and Leo are helping me train with Master Splinter. You'll have to switch out the cameras at Mona's place."

Raph rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

His comic hit the ground and April's mouth was off before she even processed what he said.

"That's not fair! Why are you so inconsiderate! Why do you always have to...wait." She froze. "Did you say okay?"

Raph paused long enough to reach behind the back of the couch and retrieve his comic before he spoke again.

"Technically, I said "fine," but whatever floats your boat." He quipped. "Though I give you props for the brat fit."

"Oh." April realized, then rubbed the back of her neck. "Um, sorry about that. It's just that...I kind of expected you to put up a fight. I didn't figure you would want to do this."

"Of course I don't." He replied.

"Then why did you..."

_He's doing it. Just walk away,_ her mind warned.

"Alrighty then."

She started toward the kitchen, pausing only when Mikey grabbed her arm.

"Did Donnie say _what_ he had to do tonight?" He asked.

"He didn't give any specifics."

Mikey blinked.

"No. No, he didn't."

"Is he still in the lab."

"Yeah."

"Thanks April." Mikey smiled. He got up, carrying a few sheets of notebook paper with him as he left. April, confused by both of the guys' behavior, just shrugged it off and went toward the kitchen, the smell of noodles luring her in.

_Man,_ she thought. _Guys are weird._

* * *

Mikey sprinted up to the door to the lab and knocked.

"Who is it?" Donnie called back.

"It's me. Can I come in?"

There was a slight pause.

"I'm...kind of busy right now, Mikey. Can it wait?" His voice was impatient, tired.

_He doesn't want me to come in,_ Mikey realized. _Just me. If it was Leo or April or Raph it would be fine._

"Yeah." Mikey replied, trying to hide the hurt in his voice. "I just have something to give you."

He slipped the papers under the edge of the door and headed off. Inside the lab, Donnie didn't move until the shadow of Mikey's feet disappeared along with their respectful thumps down the hallway. Rising from his computer chair, he made his way over to the door and picked up the paper. The first was a note. There were a few spelling errors, and it took a second for Donnie to decode Mikey's handwriting but he eventually he made it out.

_I'm sorry we made fun of your friend. Totally not cool of us, bro. You never made fun of Leatherhead, even when he grabbed your face. You even tried to help him. I know we'll do something to bring our friends back one day. I really hope Pulverizer gets better soon. If you ever need me to help with anything, I'm your turtle. - Mikey_

In addition to the note, Mikey had drawn a picture of the four of them, April, Sensei, Leatherhead, AND Timothy when he was still a human, costume and everything. Donnie couldn't help but notice that he included Murakami, Pidgeon Pete, April's dad, Mona, and Angel as well. Afterall, they were their allies...their friends too.

_Typical Mikey,_ Donnie thought. _He thinks about everyone._

Donnie soon realized that there was a third sheet of paper. He pulled it aside, only to discover a doodle of Mikey dressed in superhero gear. The words, "The Turtle Titan" was scribbled at the top in red crayon. It probably got slipped in by accident. Donnie made a mental note to return it. He walked back to his desk and grabbed a thumbtack. Whether they liked it or not, these creatures and people were part of the Hamato family now. He hung Mikey's family portrait between his desk and the Pulverizer's tank.

"You see that, Tim?" He asked, addressing his friend. "Reassurance."

He glanced down at Mikey's note one more time. Slowly, his hand went to his chin, an idea coming to his mind. Glancing over at the phone that lay on the table, he picked it up and started to go through the contacts. The phone belonged to Tim, and as predicted, "Mommy" was one of the top contacts. He checked the first few digits of the phone number and quickly realized that he lived in Manhattan too. It would take awhile to locate the right house, trying to remember where they fought Blaster Stickman the first time certainly wasn't ringing any bells at the moment, but it would be worth it. Grabbing the spare knapsack he used on quick trips to the military dump and his staff, he left the lab. He discovered that everybody was in the dojo by the time he got into the living room, the metallic clatter that came from the room being a telltale. All the better for a quick getaway. In typical ninja fashion, he was gone, nothing but the shadows taking his place.

* * *

Mona hardly acknowledged Raph while he was there. Normally, he would be perfectly fine with this. If Angel would leave him alone, it would be even better. She sat on the catwalk, facing his back, while the music on her phone blared obnoxiously loud. Raph sat on the ground beside a black van. The type of adhesive Donnie used to stick the cameras to the inner edging wasn't cooperating. Raph figured that there was some kind of solvent his brother had that could remove it, but it wasn't a concern until _after_ he left the lair. He had already grabbed a few of the cameras and microphones that sat on the kitchen table and the glue. He saw Donnie leave not long after, heading in the opposite direction. Mikey and Leo weren't with him, meaning that he probably had a few personal demons to face as April had mentioned. Raph _certainly_ wasn't going to turn back now to interrupt him.

Another song switched over on Angel's phone, a song that Raph instantly recognized.

_Have faith in me 'cause there are things that I've seen I don't believe. So cling to what you know and never let go. You should know things aren't always what they seem_

_She's got good music taste at least,_ Raph couldn't help but think. It was really the only thing preventing him from losing his mind at the moment. In a way, Angel kind of reminded Raph of Mikey. Loud and annoying, gamer, loves pranks. The duo would get along so well.

Mona appeared through the door that connected to her house minutes later and made her way to the van where Raph worked. The last few verses of the song faded out as she arrived.

"Great." He heard her mutter, although it was more to herself than anything. She paused at the hood of the car and looked up at Angel, who's legs were swinging wildly over the edge of the walk. "That's one of the only songs in that genre that I can actually stand."

Beside her, Raph gave her a confused look. _She_ actually_ liked_ that song? This chick? The girl that had crappy pop music playing on her radio the last time they were there? Finally, she turned her attention back to him and held something out to him.

"Will this work?" She asked, bringing him back from his thoughts. It was a small scraper, the type used to remove ice from car windshields on cold mornings. She had seen Raph struggling and, deciding that it would get him to leave faster, came back with it.

"Just don't damage anything." She stated as he took it from her.

"No promises."

With a roll of her eyes, she went back inside. Now, Angel quickly took her place beside him seconds later. She had turned her phone off, probably so he could hear the question she was about to ask.

"You're a ninja, right?"

Raph remained silent and stared at her. His gaze lingered. Angel made the realization.

"Yeah. I'm kind of disappointed in _myself_ for asking that." She admitted. "I was just curious because I want to know what the technical term for_ these_ are. Beside 'ninja stars.' I get that." She held the star shaped weapon in her hand.

There was a slight pause between the two before Raph turned back to his work. Angel considered leaving, thinking that Raph wasn't going to answer her question at all.

"Hira-shuriken." He replied, absently.

"_Hira-_shuriken?"

"Did I stutter?"

"Somebody told me that it was a Bo-shuriken."

"That person is an idiot and probably has trouble sleeping at night because of this." He quipped, scraping at the small device again. "Bo-shuriken look like rods with sharpened tips."

"So...'ninja toothpicks?'" She inquired.

"Whatever you say."

He was hoping that Angel would go away now. Apparently not.

"Okay. But just so you know, the girl that told me this didn't seem like an idiot. In fact, she seemed like the type that would mess with you just for the heck of it. Like she was trying to see how much_ I_ knew."

_What do I need to know this for,_ Raph thought bitterly. A human girl with knowledge of Japanese weaponry wasn't an interesting enough conversation topic to draw him from his work.

He stopped.

_A human girl with knowledge of Japanese weaponry..._

Maybe it was.

"Tell me, Angel. What did this girl look like?"

"Weird black and blonde haircut and weird red makeup that was cool at the same time. Um...a lot of ear piercings. Dark clothing?" She shrugged. "Killer jacket."

_Just as he predicted. Karai._

"Where did you see her at?"

"The bowling alley." Angel replied, uncertain. Although she was quick to catch on this time. "Are you pumping me for information?"

"Does it show?" He asked, then stood and pointed a single sai at her. "Talk."

His voice wasn't full of rage or threat, just demand.

"Like I said, she was at the bowling alley. She saw my pocket knife and we got into a conversation about blades. She asked me how my knife throwing skills were and if I had considered joining the Foot. I've been seeing her all over town, talking to random groups of kids. That's it. I don't have anything else to do with the matter."

_She's up to something, _Raph noted.

"Do you know who she is?" Angel questioned, before her expression perked up. "Seriously. She needs to take me shopping."

Given Angel's purple hair, black and neon clothing, and her new lip ring that hadn't quite healed yet, Raph could see the admiration. If circumstances were different, he might have even found the whole thing funny. Any attempt of the two speaking again was cut off by Mona clearing her throat. Raph turned his head to the side to see her glaring at him, arms crossed. The tip of his sai was still aimed at Angel.

_Yeah, this chick was either psychic or had really good timing. Maybe both._

"She's nobody." He warned. "Just stay away from her. I'd figure that you'd be smart enough to know that, but I guess I'm giving you too much credit."

He turned his attention to Mona, his weapon unknowingly aiming at her as well. "Same to you, Salamander."

Mona's glare never faded.

"Aim your weapon away from my friend." She began. "Please."

It took a second, but Raph finally realized that she was trying to keep everything peaceful by holding in her frustration. He could read it on her face. His mind drifted back to the conversation he, Mikey, and Leo had in the kitchen. She's nonviolent. She doesn't want trouble. Taking a deep breath as well, Raph lowered his arms. Silently, Mona stalked over to the garage door and raised it. He came to another realization within that moment. He could say whatever he wanted about her, she didn't care. It was when he threatened her home or her friends that bothered her the most.

"Leave."

"I'm sorry."

Both of their eyes widened at the other's words. Angel stood behind Raph, her own eyes darting from him to Mona.

"You're sorry?" Mona scoffed. "For what? Breaking and entering? Acting like a complete prick? Threatening me? Threatening Angel?"

"I think I'm going to check on the cats." Angel replied, not liking her name being brought into the situation. Raph turned and watched her disappear through the door, scrambling actually. Now, it was just Mona and himself.

"I'm sorry for everything." He muttered, his tone almost bored. "My temper gets the better of me sometimes. This isn't the first time it's caused problems."

Awkwardly, Mona crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, avoiding his gaze. She wanted an apology. There it was.

"Yeah? Well...I probably could have been a little less harsh as well." She shrugged. Her expression darkened. "But you caused most of it. I was perfectly fine until you and your brothers showed up."

"I know." Raph protested flatly.

_Way to play the blame game._

Silence passed between the two for what seemed like hours, though Mona did seem slightly amused by his annoyance. The whole thing was unsettling in general. Neither were good with emotion. He seemed sorry, and so did she. What else were they suppose to say? Finally, Mona spoke.

"If you can get the cameras on the cars, I'll worry about getting them off. Deal?"

Raph nodded and the two set to work. Raph returned to his place beside the van, Mona passing behind him. Seconds later she returned with a spoon and a cup of water. Raph watched as water droplets dripped onto the floor below, as the fender blocked most of his view from what she was doing. Seconds later, she pulled the camera out, the clear glue that stuck to the other side was slightly runny.

"And you didn't tell me that the glue came off with water because..." Raph's voice trailed off and his hand circled, urging for her to continue.

"I wanted to annoy you." She replied with a smirk.

Again, Raph remained silent.

"Given our little newfound alliance...I'll let that slide." He replied.

Using the glue he had grabbed on the way over, he stuck another camera to the side and moved on to the next car. Mona directed him, noticing that he managed to remove the microphones from beneath the seats as well. Angel came in a few minutes later. She held a plate of cookies in her hand and gingerly bit into one.

"Wow. You guys aren't dead." She replied, almost amazed.

Her sentence was cut off as movement near the garage door caught their attention. A boy with brown hair and dark clothes stalked in. Formerly, he was obsessed with something on his phone, but now froze as he noticed the third being in the room. His focus lingered on Raph, and Raph's own eyes turned toward Mona, who looked indifferent. The fact that she showed no fear to this boy revealed that he knew about her existence. He had probably known for quite some time. He was another one of her friends.

"How many more humans are going to find out about us this week?" Raph pressed.

"Relax. It's just Danny." Angel replied, attempting to soothe the situation.

"Ohmygosh! That's a turtle!"

"And my little brother, Ryan." She finalized.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

**Friends, Old and New**

* * *

It took less time for Donnie to find Tim's house than he expected. Buildings soon became familiar, as Donnie probably remembered the layout subconsciously from the fight a few months back. Likewise, it wasn't hard to find the house belonging to Tim's mother, either. He had talked about it during their short time training. It was the tall, brick apartment building with a bunch of wind-chimes hanging around the front porch. They tinkled as he started up the fire escape, the sound mixing with the cool night air.

Tim's room itself was a dead giveaway. Countless Star Wars, Batman, Bleach, and Power Ranger merchandise filled every crevice of the room, posters and multiple action figures included. Donnie slowly raised the window and slipped inside, careful to avoid whatever it was on the table below. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he could see that Tim's bed lay beside the window on the right, and that the only light came from several strings of white Christmas lights above said bed (why did humans put those things in their rooms anyway?), a Space Heroes poster was tapped crookedly on the wall above the headboard.

"Yeah. Figures he would be a fan of that." Donnie noted at the poster, remembering his brother's own fanboy tendencies.

His eyes suddenly drifted to table below the window where he had come in, curious as to what sat on top. Space Heroes action figures. It looked like he was close to having the complete set, the Captain Ryan figure standing proudly in front. Donnie picked it up, looking over the toy. On the right lay Tim's computer and desk, a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide sat next to the mouse pad. A red guitar sat in the corner. A single Katana blade, which Donnie discovered as plastic and fake upon poking the end and seeing the blade retract into the handle, sat on display above his computer. Several badly drawn pictures of him and his brothers were tapped on the wall, reassuring Donnie's suspicions that this was, indeed, Timothy's domain. Above that, on a shelf, sat several more books, mangas, comics, and superhero masks.

Another idea perked his mind, although he didn't exactly feel the best about it. Minutes later, the two sets of Christmas lights were down. They seemed like something that April would put in her room. Although the few things that Irma had managed to grab made her feel a little better, the makeshift pallet in the back room where April had been sleeping wasn't exactly welcoming. He wound them and stuffed them into his knapsack. Now, for his brothers and Sensei.

He snagged The Zombie Survival Guide and a few of the comics and mangas beside the superhero mask. Bonus because Tim had the next two novels in the Gone series, the very ones that Mikey had been looking for. He also managed to find a book on Asian weaponry. Maybe Sensei and Leo would find it interesting. Although, as big of a dimwit as Tim was, Donnie was surprised to even find the book at all. He wanted to jump in and be the big hero, why would he have a book that would cause for him to study? He found out when he opened the front cover and saw the pink sticky note.

_Happy Birthday, Timmy. Knock 'em dead! ~ Crystal_

He could only assume that Crystal was either his mother or the girlfriend that April mentioned. His best bet was the girlfriend. He certainly hoped that Tim's mom was wise enough that she wouldn't give her son a book about blades and encourage him to simply go out and fight crime. Alhough given her son, he couldn't exactly be sure how reputable her wisdom could be. He removed the note from the inside cover but placed it in the knapsack. It somehow felt wrong for him to get rid of it, but he certainly couldn't give them the book with it still inside. It was entirely too personal. He placed the Captain Ryan action figure in as well. That pretty much did it for the capacity. The weaponry book was too wide, so he would have to carry it along with the guitar and his staff.

_I came to give his family a note and I end up taking most of his stuff,_ Donnie thought bitterly. _I'm such an amazing friend._

Although it wasn't the first time that he had taken something that didn't belong to him. Sudden images of Leatherhead's old subway car filled Donnie's mind before he turned it into the Shellraiser. Maybe it was his slight pack-rat tendencies.

Sighing, he pulled out a piece of computer paper that he had brought with him and a pen. He sat down at Tim's desk, rummaging through the drawer and through some of Tim's school folders until he got a feel of his writing. Finally, the note was complete. He left it on the computer desk as he placed his school folders back in the drawer. His last act was getting rid of Tim's drawings. He pulled them from the wall, tearing them up into confetti, which he willingly tossed out the window. Mutant turtles and his strange disappearance. He couldn't take the chance of Tim's family putting two-and-two together. With the knapsack on his shoulder, the guitar strap on the other, the book in his arm, and his staff in the holder around his back, he climbed out onto the fire escape. The departure was none to soon, as there was a knock on the door.

"Timothy?"

With a slight gasp, Donnie scrambled up onto the roof above, just as the woman (his mother?) opened the door. His mind was telling him to flee, yet he stayed. It didn't take long for her to find the note. Donnie even mouthed with her once she wandered toward the window and read it.

_Dear Mom, I'm going away for awhile. I've made some friends who are helping me figure out a few things. Please don't worry about me. I'll be back before you know it._

He had finished the note off with the little Space Heroes gesture doodle that he had seen on some of the notes between Tim and his friends. He thinks that was what got her the most.

"Harold!" He heard her shriek. She sounded as if she were on the brink of tears. There was a shift below, and Donnie knew that she had turned away from the window. "He's been here. He's okay," she sobbed. Her voice fading as she darted out of the room, a lump caught in Donnie's throat.

He couldn't exactly describe the emotion that he was feeling at the moment. He sat on the roof's edge. That was where he stayed for the next hour and a half, listening to the wind chimes. Tim's parents sped off in their car minutes later, making their way toward the police station. The cops would probably be there soon to go over evidence. He knew that he needed to get out of there soon. It wasn't smart to stay in the open for to long. Fortunately, Donnie's T-Phone went off, signaling a new text from Leo and bringing him back from his thoughts.

_Raph is still at Mona's. Stop by and drag him home on your way back, ok? -Leonardo_

Raph actually went?

* * *

Donnie wasn't quite sure what he was expecting as he made his way toward Mona's garage.

Raph sat on the ground in front of a black van beside Mona and watched as Angel tossed knives at a dart-board across the room. The three protruding from the center revealed that she hadn't missed yet. The fourth went in just as smoothly, right between the other two. It was a once-in-a-million shot.

"What do you think about that?" Angel asked proudly, crossing her arms.

"Amazing as usual." Mona replied, giving a thumbs up.

"Not bad." Raph shrugged.

Both girls turned to him.

"Is it ever possible to get a compliment from this guy?" Angel questioned, glancing at her friend.

"I said _not bad_." Raph protested.

Angel only rolled her eyes as she walked over to retrieve her blades. That was probably the best she _was_ ever going to get out of him.

Plates of cookies, bowls of ice cream, Cola, and pizza sat on the ground around them. It was almost as if they were having a mini party. On the catwalk above the door, in a way similar to Angel had been earlier, Danny sat and strummed a black and white guitar, something he had retrieved from his car earlier. Behind Raph and Mona, a little boy sat on the top of the van. He couldn't be any older than eight. His head was resting in his hands and his gaze was fixated on Raphael.

"You're really a turtle?" He asked, his voice filled with wonder.

"Yes kid, as I've stated twice already, I'm a turtle." Raph replied with slight annoyance. It didn't seem to phase the kid.

"Cool!" He drawed.

Raph turned back, hiding a smirk at the kid's admiration. Beside him, Mona stood up.

"Okay, my turn." She made her way toward Angel, who now had her knives in hand.

"Don't break a nail." Angel spoke as she handed them over.

"Shut up!"

She ran up to where Angel had stood seconds before and attempted to mimic her friend. Angel returned to the guys with her arms crossed and an amused look on her face.

"There's no way she can do that." She replied with a slight chuckle, then pointed a finger, threatening the guys. "No laughing. Only I'm allowed to make fun of her."

"Wouldn't dream of it." Raph added, although his tone suggested otherwise. Finally, Angel's eyes drifted toward the door before she turned back to face Mona.

"And Raph? You can tell your brother that he can come inside. Hiding in the shadows isn't exactly working for him at the moment."

"That's because I'm not trying to hide." Donnie protested.

He drew closer, the florescent lighting cascading over him and revealing that he had been leaning against the door frame, observing. Raph looked slightly surprised, not even realizing that his brother was outside until now. _Once a ninja, always a ninja. _It was then that Raph noticed all of the stuff that Donnie was carrying, including the guitar.

"So, you've finally decided to go on the road as a Pink Floyd groupie?"

The red guitar dropped in Raph's lap at the comment and Donnie dropped his knapsack and the book on the floor beside him.

"It's your's actually." Donnie replied.

_What?_

Raph looked the thing over. It was sleek and Candy-apple red. _And shiny._ Like the motorcycle he had seen when they came to Mona's house the second time.

"What am I going to do with this?" He demanded. He was a ninja, not a_ rockstar._

"You could learn to play it. Just a thought." Donnie quipped.

"Not what I meant."

"You could swing it at people." Danny suggested from above, breaking his silence. The two turned to shoot a strange look at the boy before gazing in each other's direction, Donnie only just realized that he was there.

"And we would do something like that because..." Raph's voice trailed off. Danny only shrugged.

"That's what I do with Florence."

"Florence? You...name your guitar?" Donnie asked.

"Problem?" Danny questioned.

Raph and Donnie shot a glance at each other.

"Not if you don't have one." Raph replied. Danny only held his hands up in defense. With his own guitar strapped around his shoulder now, he stood, almost as if to look the duo in the eye.

"Look, all I'm saying is that, whenever somebody tries to mess with me, she's never let me down. That's why I don't bother carrying around a knife or pepper spray like my dad always suggest. Florence is indestructible."

"Did it ever occur that maybe thugs wouldn't come after you if you didn't always wave around an expensive guitar?" Donnie asked, hoping to reveal the paradox in Danny's actions.

"Yes." He replied with enough false enthusiasm to make Donnie raise his brow in disapproval. "Did it ever occur to you that, because my dad is rich and I dress like _this_, people are going to mess with me anyway?"

Donnie scanned over Danny's clothing. Black jeans, a black t-shirt, and biker boots. It definitely wasn't attire you would expect from the stereotypical "rich" kid. Raph still had trouble believing Danny's story.

"Your dad is rich?" It was more of a statement than a question.

"He owns Channel 6 news." Danny replied. "Charles Pennington? Danny Pennington?" He twirled his hand in a _ring-any-bells_ gesture. Raph and Donnie just stared.

"I don't watch anything unless something explodes." Raph said, looking down to the guitar and gliding his fingers over the strings.

_Yeah, this is going to be difficult to play with three fingers, _he couldn't help but think.

Donnie only turned back to Danny and shrugged, never hearing of Danny's dad. "Sorry." He apologized with a shrug.

"No problem at all, Beanpole." Danny smirked.

_Beanpole?_ While trying to decide if he should be offended or not, Danny slid from the side of the railing and landed on the floor beside them. He punched Donnie lightly on the shoulder on his way by. "My dad thinks he's Mr. Perfect, anyway. Its about time somebody brought him back down to Earth."

He stalked off. Donnie only stood there, unsure what to make of the boy. Something about Danny's words, what he said about his dad, made Donnie uneasy. He felt as if there was some kind of hidden meaning in them that he just wasn't catching on to. Another pair of eyes broke him from his analysis. The little boy that sat on top of the van had directed his gaze from Raph to him.

"Are you a turtle too?" He questioned. Donnie only blinked.

"Why yes." He replied, after a pause, slightly relieved to stray from his former thoughts. "I have a shell, don't I?"

"Ryan has a shell too." Angel replied, suddenly returning to the conversation. Oddly enough, Donnie got the suspicion that she had been listening to them the entire time. "In fact, I think he should embrace it more."

She stalked by him and rustled the little boy's curly black locks. He had the same eyes and the same mocha skin as Angel, so it was really no surprise when she introduced him. "This is my little brother, Ryan. You've already met Danny." She paused. "He's kind of a wad."

"We've noticed." Raph replied.

In front of them, Mona continued with the knives. Three of the blades went flying toward the board, but didn't stick. She quickly realized that she wasn't putting enough pressure into her throw. This time when she tossed it, the knife sailed way past the board, past the catwalk even and embedded itself into the wall near the ceiling.

_Too much pressure, _Mona thought bitterly.

Angel gazed up, her expression slightly deflated.

"Welp, it looks like I'll have to get more knives." She spoke.

"Don't worry, I've got it." Mona said, hurrying toward the other end of the building.

"We could get it." Donnie suggested as she stopped in front of the wall and looked up. "It would probably be easier than you going..."

His voice trailed off as Mona started to climb, her hands and feet pulling her upwards on the wall. At this, Raph slowly leaned to the side, Donnie blocking his view.

_Okay. Definitely didn't see that coming,_ he thought.

Finally, Mona made her way to the top and snagged the knife with her free hand. Afterwards she dropped to the catwalk below with a slight start from Donnie. Mona was small, dainty even. He wasn't expecting her to just up and climb the wall like that little girl from The Ring. Standing at the edge of the catwalk railing, Mona held the blade out.

"Told you" She stated.

"Good. Now drop it." Angel said. As an after thought she added, "Gently!"

It slipped from Mona's hand and landed on the floor with a metallic clatter. Angel retrieved it while Mona, finally getting the surprised look from Donnie and Raph and feeling slightly uneasy, opted for the metal staircase that led up to the catwalk. Donnie only walked up to her.

"Any particular reason you were hiding your powers from us?" He questioned, arms crossed and slight demand in his voice.

"That was a power?"

"You just climbed a wall."

"I see it as more of an..._ability_." Mona replied.

Donnie never broke stance, revealing that he wasn't in the mood for her attempt at cutting corners.

"I wasn't hiding anything." She stated. These were possibly the least-trusting guys she had ever met. "You guys were just never around to see me climb and its never really been brought up. But now you know."

The intensity of Donnie's glare faded, sensing that she was telling the truth and maybe he was being a little too harsh at the moment.

"Sorry. How exactly does the wall climbing ability work? If you don't mind my asking, that is." Donnie questioned.

"I have this...padding on the bottom of my hands and feet. You can't even notice them, but they act like suction cups. That's how I climb. I don't know how or why I have it, though."

"I'm guessing it was an affect of the mutagen." Donnie guessed. "It seems most likely. The stuff is pretty unstable, though most of the cases we've witnessed are usually splices between two living organisms. Did you happen to have a lizard come in contact with your skin before you mutated? Maybe you inherited a few traits from it besides your appearance?"

"I guess that makes sense." Mona replied. Donnie almost felt bad. The look on her face revealed that his questions were making her uncomfortable. Finally, she spoke again. "We were studying Kingdoms in science class before the party that night. The teacher happened to bring in a few Geckos. Naturally, I partnered with the girls from the squad so I'm the only one doing any work or touching the animals."

Donnie gave a slight chuckle at her sudden grumpiness.

"You were on a squad?"

"Cheerleading. I was the flyer. You know, the girl that gets thrown in the air?"

"Yeah." He nodded, although cheerleading terminology wasn't a strong point of his. "So...you have some knowledge of gymnastics?"

"Yes, but don't expect me to pull any of the stunts you or your brothers can do." Mona replied, getting straight to the point. "I can do a few back flips and scale walls, big deal. And even then my tail gets in the way most of the time. Cheerleading was more of something the old Mona was passionate about." She abruptly stopped, realizing that she had let something slip.

"The old Mona?" Donnie inquired. "Who's the new Mona?"

There was another pause between the two. Donnie looked genuinely concerned with what she had to say.

"Actually, the _real_ Mona is a physics geek that's obsessed with machinery. She goes by her brain rather than her strength. The squad Mona was just a cover up for her parents and the people around her. She doesn't visit much anymore."

She expected him to laugh or make fun of her, just like everyone at school would have if she let her other self shine through. True, he liked engineering and seemed somewhat geeky as well, but his intelligence seemed off the charts. She still had trouble believing that he pulled the cameras together with spare parts he found at the junkyard. In addition, from what she had seen from some of the kids in auto-shop or the science club at school, they had been pretty full of themselves. She was just the wannabe geek girl. What was a genius compared to the trainee anyway? Oddly enough, Donnie didn't seem like that, so she was relieved to see a small grin appear on his face.

"Your brain_ is_ one of your greatest weapons." He replied. "It's something Sensei and I are always trying to get April and the guys to understand. If you can outsmart your enemies, you can defeat them."

Mona said nothing.

"I could show you how to throw if you want." Donnie replied at the silence. Surprised, she handed them over.

* * *

Raph got bored not long after his brother left, so he settled for skimming through the book that Donnie had brought with him. He turned through it, weaponry dating back from ancient China and Japan to the modern age filled the pages. He was glad to see that the weaponry descriptions were accurate as well, or at least the ones he recognized from Sensei's descriptions, ones that he had used, or ones that were stored in the spare weapons room in the lair. He focused on the paragraph in front of him.

_Jitte may have a small pointed tip or blade attached to the tsuka and hidden in the boshin. Jitte could be highly decorated with all manner of inlays and designs or very plain and basic depending on the status of the owner and the jitte's intended use. Jitte could range in length from around 12 inches to over 24 inches. The modern jitte is about 45 cm (18 inches) long with no cutting edge and a one-pronged tine _- blah blah blah.

Raph chose that exact moment to look up. Across the room, Donnie was demonstrating how to throw the blade and probably giving Mona Sensei's typical "one with your weapon" speech. The guys rarely used throwing knives, preferring shuriken, but the art of throwing was one of the first things their father had taught them before they even _had_ a weapon of choice. Donnie threw a knife, followed by Mona. Afterwards he paused to correct her posture or show her where to place her hands. After what seemed like forever, she finally got one to embed on the lower half of the dart board and it seemed to thrill her to no end. Donnie only continued to smirk and encouraged her to try again. Angel and Ryan went out with Danny to his car not long after, possibly to put his guitar away or get something. Raph was itching for _something_ entertaining to happen. Remembering his own weapons, he decided to join Mona and Donnie in their little _training session_.

He walked up, unknown. Mona drew her hand back, sending another blade flying toward the wall. It soared, looking as if it would hit the center, but never made it. Raph's sai intercepted, colliding with the blade and striking the wall, the knife caught between the empty space of the center and the side guards. Within seconds it fell to the floor, almost in slow motion. Donnie and Mona spun around to see the satisfied look on Raph's face. Donnie was uncertain as to why his brother would do that, before remembering that it was _Raph_. Mona was furious, a telltale being that she stalked up and shoved Raph, which really did no good because he was bigger than she was. This fact only seemed to infuriate her more.

"You're such a jerk!" She yelled. "That one was going to make it."

"I guess now we'll never know, huh?" He challenged.

Her expression fell. Did he just...? He didn't just...? There's no way he would...

_Yes Mona,_ her inner bully challenged. _He did just say that._

A deep growl escaped her. She shoved Raph once more as she stomped off, making her way toward the door of her house and slamming it behind her. Donnie shot a stern look at Raph once he knew that Mona was far enough away.

"You enjoy making people mad, don't you?" He questioned flatly.

"Only on days that end in_ Y_." Raph smirked.

Angel darted in at the end of his sentence.

"Hey guys. We've got to go now before Danny misses his curfew and his dad pops a vein." She said. She paused long enough to grab her black hoodie out of the floor and checked the time on her phone. 11:00. She slipped the jacket on and zipped it. Her trusty pocket knife fell out and rolled under the van, which she dove for before slipping both it and the phone in her front pocket.

"Where'd Mo go?" She questioned before sprinting toward the wall.

"Raph upset her. _Again_." Donnie replied.

"Awesome" The drip in her voice revealed that she was getting slightly tired of Raph's antics as well. She grabbed her throwing knives from the wall, then headed back to the guys.

"What did you do?" She questioned.

"Messed up her throw." He spoke as if it were no big deal. "So she pushed me and went inside."

"She's probably not mad then." Angel explained. "Just huffy. She gets like that a lot. When you upset her and she's quiet is when you need to worry. I brought her chocolate cake yesterday and I'll call her later. She'll be fine."

"Thanks Angel." Donnie replied. It was nice to know that somebody seemed concerned about the girl. He hesitated, then held his hand out.

"Here, give me your phone." He replied. Angel narrowed her eyes. Her phone? Her most beloved item? Donnie caught her thought process.

"I'm just going to put my number in it in case something ever happens with Mona or you guys need our help."

She obeyed. Outside, Danny honked the horn as Donnie quickly typed in the number and added his name. Angel called out for him to shut up, although it was probably in vain.

"Thanks." She said. "You guys should probably get going soon too."

"Will do." Donnie nodded as Angel scrambled through the garage door.

He turned to see that Raph was already making his way toward the door behind her. Danny had already pulled off by the time Donnie regathered Timothy's stuff and pulled the garage door down. Raph already had the guitar strapped across his back. why did he grab that thing for Raph, anyway? Knowing him, he would probably just break it, preferably against Mikey's skull. They two walked in silence for awhile as they started home.

"Why do you have to always have to act the way you do?" Donnie asked, finally getting the question off his chest.

"It's fun."

It was all he said. Beside him, Donnie's gaze starred daggers to the side of his head. Not being able to ignore it anymore, Raph caught his stare and realized how serious his brother was about the question. He decided to drop the act.

"Okay. I don't know."

Donnie continued to glare, wanting a better answer but knowing that he wasn't going to get one. He stared ahead and decided that he would leave the matter for another day. Right now, he just wanted to get home where he wouldn't have anything else to worry about.

"Karai is up to something." Raph started.

_Spoke too soon._

"Details?"

"Recruiting. Angel said she came up to her in a bowling alley and asked her to join the Foot. She said she's been seeing her with groups of kids all over town. "

"_Definitely_ something we need to look into." Donnie noted. "Better..."

Raph's hand suddenly shot out, stopping Donnie in mid-step.

"Raph, what's..."

He shushed him then started to back away, into the darkness of an alley. The entire time, Raph's eyes were focused on the roof of a building across the street. Donnie looked, seeing the dark figure jumping from rooftop to rooftop. He drew closer. At this point, it was possible to see the duo if the figure tried hard enough. Luckily they paid no attention to the sides of the circling city, only to the area in front of them where the rooftops ended and another picked up.

"That look suspicious to you?" Donnie spoke, already knowing the answer.

"They're either being chased, escaping, or heading somewhere where they'll possibly need to escape later." Raph added. "Just a quick guess."

"Either way, let's go."

* * *

**I'm sorry that its taken so long to update, I've had family stuff come up. :'C**

**The scene with Donnie in Timothy's room is partially inspired by a picture created by jasjuliet on Tumblr.**

**Danny is from the first TMNT movie, I just gave him a more punk-like edge and decided to turn Angel's big brother Ryan into her_ little_ brother. (He's 8.)**

**I made a petition to bring Monalisa to the 2012 TMNT series. I have the link on my pro, feel free to sign it if you wish.**

**Next chapter Karai will have a small part and we reveal who this mysterious figure is. Hint: He was a main antagonist in the 2003 series, but I'm turning him into a teenager. He was part of the Foot Clan.**

**And yes, I will add Casey and Irma once they're revealed in the show. I want to get a taste of their personalities and know them a little more so I don't contradict anything.**

**Hope you've enjoyed this chapter. :)**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

**The Boy with the Dragon Tattoo**

* * *

"Left. No right! RIGHT!"

Leo swerved, barely missing the car in the opposite lane. After a few shrill honks and, no doubt, harsh language from the other driver, he managed to gain control of the vehicle. Within seconds they cruised peacefully through the streets of New York, just as they had minutes prior. Leo paused to catch his breath, then turned around to see the slightly panicked, if not apologetic, look on Mikey's face.

"_Mikey_." Leo spoke his brother's name with slight warning.

"Heh. Sorry dude." Mikey replied. "I keep forgetting that your left is my right. Or...was it the other way around?"

Mikey put a finger to his chin, pondered, and made an "L" shape with his hands in hopes that it would help him determine left from right. Behind him, Leo knew that Raph was annoyed with their brother's negligence as well, but instead he chose to simmer rather than to call Mikey out on his mistake. Donnie merely sat at the controls, paying them all no mind. Come to think of it, Donnie and Raph had been complete no-nonsense since they dropped their stuff back at the lair and alerted Mikey and himself about the possible threat. The next thing they knew, Leo rushed them into the Shellraiser and they were off.

Deciding to let the matter drop, Leo slumped back in his seat and returned his full focus to the road.

"So this person was just traveling from building to building?" Leo inquired. "There isn't a possibility that it could just be some thrill seeker?" It wasn't uncommon for his brothers to blow things out of proportion.

"How many humans do you know that can jump that distance?" Raph demanded.

True, the distance between buildings were usually _very_ spacious. Somebody would have to know their body's abilities and practice often to be able to jump the gap. Never mind the fact that this kid was _traveling_ by them, meaning that he much faith in himself not to fall. This wasn't a common mundane thing. The guys themselves were _mutants_ trained in the art of Ninjutsu. They could do things humans only imagined were possible. Apparently this human boy could as well, and the thought unsettled them to no end. An unusually strong kid lurking in the shadows probably meant that they were up to something, and until they discovered his reasoning, he was an enemy.

"Do _former_ humans count?" He asked referring to Raph's question. He then shrieked and ducked as Raph's hand shot out in an attempt to hit him. "We don't know many humans to begin with! Excuse me for wanting to be specific!"

"You two! Enough!" Leo scolded. He directed his attention toward Donnie, the only other person in the vehicle who seemed to have common sense. "I'm keeping my eyes on the rooftops. Which way did you say they were headed?"

"The docks." Donnie replied. "You know, the area with all the storage units and warehouses filled with_ priceless antiques_ and _merchandise_." The sentence was directed toward Raph and Mikey, hinting that they needed to focus. It worked.

"We get it." They echoed in unison.

For the next few minutes, everything inside the Shellraiser went accordingly. Mikey navigated them toward the docks and Leo drove, his eyes drifting toward the top of the skyscrapers and smaller buildings every time a figure appeared or a shadow seemed out of place. Finally, everything paid off as a streak of dark flashed across the screen. Leo directed the vehicle away from the main road and made his way toward a side alley, then parked. The rest of the tracking would be done on foot. The turtles were again greeted by the darkness of the city as they trailed after the kid. Given his height and build, Donnie determined that the figure was a boy, around sixteen or seventeen, maybe even older. The boy paused briefly at the edge of an apartment roof and pulled a slip of paper from his pocket, possibly a street address or a building number. The jacket the boy wore made it difficult to determine more of his appearance. It was made from a dark, brown leather, complete with a large hood that hid his face. In addition it had a dozen little pockets and straps.

The four observed from a taller building, an area where the streetlights had neglected to reach. In front of the building, where the boy stood, sat a small gravel playground that belonged to the complex, lit only from a porch light below. A chain-link fence surrounded it, one side being the street and another being a drop off into the Harlem River. Beyond that, in the distance, was the curving street where the warehouses were located. The docks were just above them, barely noticeable in the distance. Mikey followed the direction of his brothers' gaze. They all knew where the boy was about to head, but Mikey's gaze fell on something else. A lone, charred boat anchored in the middle of the river.

"You guys remember Mona's story, right? About how she mutated?" He questioned.

"It wouldn't be sitting in the middle of the river, genius." Raph replied, apparently reading his thoughts and giving him a slight slap upside the head. "That was over a year ago."

"Actually...if it's an on-going investigation than it_ is_ possible for it to remain there." Donnie determined. "Granted that even _is_ the boat that Mona was on."

"But...everyone thought Mona drowned." Leo spoke. "How would the case still be open?"

"Mona's "supposed death" is only part of it. Naturally, after the explosion, the Mutagen leaked into the river. I was talking with April about it a few days earlier and she was telling me about all of the Environmentalist groups that protested the leak after word got out. Not to mention they believed that a girl died from the explosion itself, hence where Mona comes in. Not wanting the negative story circulating, somebody would have to be sent out to clean it up and cover up the what they could in the case. This leads me to believe that the government knows somewhat about the Kraang invasion as well."

"Which means mutants probably aren't far behind." Raph noted, raising his brow.

Leo looked back toward the mysterious boy as Donnie and Raph debated. He still hadn't moved from the spot, but now his head darted around, as if he were lost. Leo mentally prepared himself to be ready, in case the boy started off again.

"The boat is still in the river because they're most likely trying to find the original owner. Which, if someone was carrying a boat full of Mutagen that they were possibly harnessing for sale, then they're probably not coming forward any time soon. Not to mention it's anchored in the middle of the river so people won't mess with it. They're trying to preserve evidence."

"So...do you guys think it's possible that there are other mutants that we don't even know about?" Mikey questioned. "Because of the boat leak?"

They all turned toward him at that moment, realization sinking in. Over the past few months they had been so busy trying to fight off the Kraang and the mutations the mutagen had already caused in _Manhattan_ that the possibility of mutants existing in other cities, maybe even other parts of the world never even crossed their mind. Which made them wonder...

How many more mutants COULD be hiding within the city, just like Mona. Did the Kraang have other branches set up elsewhere? And exactly how much _did_ the government know?

"Of course it's a possibility..." Donnie's voice trailed off as he caught Leo's glare and slight head shake. _Not the time or the place._ Behind him, Donnie could see the boy had vanished from the edge. He appeared seconds later, again a dark silhouette, before darting across the empty street and into an alley. "It's also a discussion for another day."

With that, the conversation was over. Mikey looked slightly disappointed at it's end. Leo only raised a Katana and pointed at each of them individually.

"Mind on the mission guys." He directed.

Seconds later the guys were over the side, continuing their pursuit of the strange boy in the leather jacket.

* * *

Fong didn't like waiting. Waiting meant being out in the open. Being out in the open meant vulnerability.

And the Purple Dragons didn't _do _vulnerability.

Seriously though. Why couldn't that stupid kid just hurry up. It's not like they had given him a hard mission. Tsoi sat on the ground behind him while Sid leaned against the wall of the warehouse, a pair of hedge clippers in his hands. From the looks on their faces, Fong could tell that they were beginning to question whether or not they could trust this kid as well.

"Why don't we just start without him." Sid suggested. He held the hedge clippers up to emphasize his point. Fong remained silent, glancing at his fellow partner before turning back to face the alley. He wasn't in the mood for answering stupid questions. Not tonight. Still, Sid didn't seem to catch on.

"I'm telling you, we should have gotten that Angel girl to do it. We've got her running scared."

"He'll be here." Fong insisted, rather shrilly.

Sid only crossed his arms at his boss's attitude and leaned back against the wall. He was use to it by now. If Fong didn't feel like answering, he wouldn't. In many cases the two would have had it out but _this_ didn't seem important enough for a fight. Sid's head turned to the side suddenly, noticing a shift beside him. Fong heard him shout, but by the time he turned around Sid was sprawled on the ground near his feet and Tsoi wasn't far behind. Their attacker inched closer, the dark hood hiding his face. The kid was well built, but Sid was larger and Fong still questioned as to how this boy could take down a giant so easily. He had seen him around, once or twice at a cage match, and the kid usually reigned victorious. It was one of the reasons they enlisted him. The kid was a runaway, desperate for money. Pathetic. What was a little food and a few snagged goodies compared to the bigger items?

"You know, Fong. I'm really beginning to question your leadership skills." The boy spoke. His hands drew toward his hood, sliding it back to reveal short blonde hair and spiked bangs. His eyes were dark brown and glaring, dark bags residing under them. Sid himself had even coined the kid _the wild-eyed boy_.

"I also question your lackey's obedience." This was directed toward Tsoi and Sid. They rose, glaring daggers at the boy. He got lucky, but if he continued running his mouth he wouldn't be around to be lucky with _anything_. "He's your leader. He makes the rules. Not exactly a difficult concept to grasp." He sighed. "You just can't get good help these days, although they can't really take all the fault when their boss is as slow-witted as they are..."

"Hunter." Fong acknowledged, interrupting. Anything to shut the kid up. "Nice of you to finally show up."

There was a slight pause before Hunter spoke again.

"Fashionably late." He smirked. "And I go by Hun now."

He unzipped the front of his jacket and shrugged it off, revealing the dark, red dragon tattoo circling his arm. The night was humid and the amount of stuff he carried within his pockets could be slightly annoying. Before dropping it on the ground, he reached inside and pulling out something shiny, gold, and purple. The Dragons locked their eyes on it.

"Is this what you wanted?" He questioned finally, holding the jewel up.

A large necklace dangled from his wrist, complements of the local museum. The gem in the center was large and purple, encircled with gold. It dangled from a long, golden chain. If anything it was slightly plain. Hun even wondered why they specifically wanted _it_ when there were so many other treasures he could have nabbed. Then he read the name on the display case and took note of the dragon etchings around the gold. Suddenly, becoming allies with these guys didn't seem so beneficial. Surely he questioned their intelligence.

"The Dragon Stone." Fong noted.

The Purple Dragons. A purple gem called The Dragon Stone. Perfectly fit for one of East Side's most reputable gangs. (Even if the reason why they wanted it seemed slightly childish and mediocre.) The coloration of the Diamond was rare, the back story making it even more valuable. It belonged to the mistress of some Chinese warrior. Who he was, Hun didn't even know. Or care. The sirens went off after he cracked the glass and the night guard finally discovered that the lens of the two security cameras in the room had been spray painted black. He had to go, and fast!

Within seconds, Sid reached out to grab it. Hun only drew his hand back.

"I got this for you. Now fill your part of the deal. Take me to see The Shredder." He demanded.

The Purple Dragons only glanced at each other, trying to hide their amusement. What could this little street rat possibly have for the great Oroku Saki? But, a deal was a deal. Fortunately for them, making an appointment with Shredder (or his henchmen rather) was pretty difficult in itself unless it was important, meaning that the price was subject to change.

"Okay kid, we'll take you to see the head honcho. But first..."

Sid tossed the hedge clippers onto the gravel in front of Hun while Fong stepped to the side, signaling what they wanted him to do. Hun looked from the clippers to the bolt on the storage unit, finally figuring out what they meant.

"No." He replied. "It wasn't part of the deal."

"Seeing Shredder wasn't part of the deal, either." Fong insisted. "You just wanted money and food. Anything else costs extra. Welcome to the real world, kid."

Each word only seemed to boil Hun more. He finally lashed out, an angry snarl escaping his throat. The necklace flew from his hands, lost in the sudden alertness from them all. He had met plenty of liars in his short time on the run, but that didn't mean he had gotten use to it or accepted it. It figures that the Dragons would play dirty. He grabbed Fong by the front of his shirt. Within seconds, Tsoi and Sid had him by the shoulders, but the kid refused to let the other man go. Fong's foot shot up, kicking the kid in the ribs and sending him backwards into the pavement, Fong being released from his grip in the process.

He landed beside his jacket, which was still filled, and the necklace. He grabbed them both, then rose. Mockingly, he shook the necklace at the Purple Dragons.

"I think I'll just hang on to this for awhile."

Fong drew his butcher knife. He wasn't about to lose such a valuable jewel. Within seconds of Fong charging toward him, Hun pulled a knife of his own from his jacket, making Fong skid to a stop. It didn't even matter who had the upper hand at that moment. Ninja stars shot out, knocking both pieces of weaponry away from their masters. Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey descended from the roof above, their main weapons out and ready for a fight. Fong made a dive for his knife while Tsoi stepped forward, his sledgehammer out. Beside him Sid cracked his knuckles.

Hun only stood there, not quite sure what to make of the descending creatures. Could the tabloids have been right? Mutants? Obviously something here wasn't right. Rather than question it, he slipped his jacket back on and took the opportunity to run. It seemed as if these three turtles were only concerned with the Dragons. Too bad for them. Wait. He quickly recounted. Three. He had specifically seen four. A tap on the shoulder alerted him. Sure enough, the orange masked turtle stood behind him.

"Hi." The creature waved in a friendly manor. "I'm Mikey. I don't think we've met."

For a second he figured that he was safe. These_ things_ thought that he was the victim. That's when he noticed the Nunchaku the mutant held in his hands.

"Just a word of wisdom, dude. You probably won't want to again."

* * *

"You've been worthy opponents." Leo started as he, Donnie, and Raph drew nearer. Mikey decided to sneak toward Hun in an attempt to catch him off guard, his brothers had their hands full at the moment. "Unfortunately your attempts at wrong doing have been in vain."

"Just strike already!" Fong demanded from behind his crew. Tsoi and Sid parted to reveal that Fong had his butcher knife. "Every time you speak you just embarrass yourselves more."

"You see what you do, Leo." Raph demanded, slightly irked by his brother's attempt at a heroic speech. "You make me agree with the bad guys. It's a sad, sad day isn't it?"

Leo remained silent, but shot a narrow-eyed side look at his brother. He soon broke stance as he heard Mikey's grunts of pain. He and Hun were fighting, and Mikey was losing. Desperately. On the brink of exhaustion, Hun grabbed Mikey by the back of his shell and slung his knee into their brother's chest, a slight crack filled the air. If that wasn't enough, a final blow to the head sent Mikey down. He just lay there, breathing heavily, too weak to move. His brothers only starred in horror.

"MIKEY!" Donnie screamed.

Raph shoved him aside, rage taking over. He charged at Hun. The boy only looked at him with a regard of welcomed combat, his eyes glazing over into an emotionless state. Then he dodged. Past Raph, past Leo and Donnie, and past the Purple Dragons. Raph considered if he was worth the chase, before Mikey let out a groan and tried to move. He was more important.

Jumping on the dumpster at the end of the building, Hun was on the roof within seconds. He didn't run off, though. Instead he stalked to where the Purple Dragons and the remaining turtles were standing. He towered over them. A bottle rested beside his foot. He had hid it there in case of emergency. He held it up, Donnie getting a good look at the contents sloshing around inside.

"That's Napalm." He realized suddenly, his heart dropping.

"I don't know what..." Leo began.

"Jellied gasoline." Donnie asserted, his tone suggesting the seriousness of the situation. "_Explosive_ jellied gasoline."

Hun raised the bottle above his head. A short distance away, Raph was now shaking Mikey slightly or slapping his cheek. His little brother had to move soon. They had to get out of here. Hearing the purple masked turtle's words, they only stared at the kid in terror as well. Everything was telling them to flee, but their feet wouldn't allow it.

"My name is Hunter Mason." Hun replied, staring them each in the eye. "You guys don't run this town anymore."

He gingerly tossed the bottle. Leo, Donnie, and the Purple Dragons finally found it in themselves to run. Hun had a head start by the time the bottle crashed, the explosion echoing, leaving whatever lay in its path burned.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

**Older Sibblings**

* * *

"Down!"

It wasn't until Leo dropped to the ground did he notice the metal band around Donnie's wrist. Within seconds the dangling bit on the end spread into a large, retractable shield. How Donnie was able to fit something that huge into something around the size of a closed Tessen, Leo didn't even know. With his brother, you learn to just stop questioning it after awhile. It _did_ do it's job of covering them from the worst of the Napalm's impact, fire, gas, and flying shards. That was all that mattered. Thankfully, the bottle that Hun held only contained a small amount. After what seemed like eternity, the ringing from the explosion began to fade, revealing that it had made its mark. Both standing now, Leo scanned the surrounding area in case the Purple Dragons were still lingering or another threat had been drawn to the noise. As expected, the Dragons were gone. Donnie himself glanced over his shield to discover that the front layer had been eaten away, which was amazing considering that entire cities could be destroyed with enough of the stuff. Carefully, he pulled the metal band from his wrist and allowed the shield to drop to the ground beside him. He_ definitely_ wasn't taking it back to the lair and cause a contamination.

Leo couldn't help but notice the sad look on his brother's face as the shield lay on the ground. He always got this expresion whenever one of his inventions were destroyed in the line of duty.

"You okay?" Leo asked.

Donnie nodded, then turned to his side again. The gas was slowly starting to spread upwards, mixing with smoke. They weren't out of danger _yet_. In front of them, Raph sat on his knees beside Mikey, glancing toward them with a worried expression. Seeing that they were unharmed, he resorted back to his brotherly instinct.

"You know, while you two ballerinas are chatting, we've got a man down!" He called.

Sprinting now, Leo and Donnie made their way to the duo who, thankfully, had been out of the impact's range. Mikey lay on his back from where Raph had turned him over, his eyes closed. Bruises were already forming from Hun's. The guy had just been so fast, Mikey couldn't even get his _own_ hit in.

"He's not waking up. I don't know what else to do." Raph replied.

Leo could see that Raph's hands were shaking over his inability to help, the knuckles turning lighter from where he had them pressed together so tightly. Donnie took Mikey's wrist and checked for a pulse, then leaned his head against his chest, as if he needed to hear the heart-beat himself.

"He's breathing, just really exhausted." Donnie revealed.

Leo dropped to Raph's level and grabbed his shoulders, making his brother turn to face him. Raph's eyes were angry, possibly over Mikey's (which was most likely), Hun's attack itself, the Purple Dragons, or any combination of the three. But most of all, they were fearful. Deep inside, it was killing Leo to see his brothers like this, but he had to be strong. For them.

"Mikey is going to be fine. Get the Shellraiser with Donnie while I move him."

Raph gave a curt nod and the two rose, heading off toward the alley a block back. This left Leo to glance over his smallest brother in his weak state. He began lifting him onto his shoulders with a slight struggle. Mikey certainly wasn't the same six year old that always wanted a piggyback ride through the lair when they were little. Rising to his feet now, Leo began walking.

"Leo?" Mikey muttered. His voice sounded like dry sandpaper. Leo was surprised to even hear him speak at all.

"It's okay, Mikey. I'm here. What is it?"

There was a pause before he answered again.

"I'm sorry I let him get away."

Leo said nothing. What would be the point? Mikey's body had already gone limp again as the little energy he had left was used up. The only choice Leo had was to continue until he saw the headlights of the Shellraiser approaching.

* * *

There were several signs that could reveal Karai was upset. The most common would be her charging toward her oppressor with her blade. That's what everyone was use to seeing. Still, there were those rare occasions where she was absolutely silent. Right now, she sat on the floor of the athletic club that Bradford owned, twirling one of the piercings in her ear. This was one of her telltales, and she often did this without realizing whenever she couldn't fathom her anxiousness into the right words. Whenever she felt her life slowly spinning out of control, she found herself drifting toward his training facility more often. She just needed some kind of sheltered escape where she could collect her thoughts for a moment and not have to worry about those stupid turtles interfering. (And the next time she saw them, they _would_ be her's.)

The skyscraper, which technically doubled as their current New York residence, often lingered of serious and emotionless bore. The faceless ninjas that were The Foot just seemed the make everything all the less personal as they darted through the halls, assisting her dad whenever he needed it. They never stopped to talk to her. Of course, this way to be expected. They were suppose to be swift. Silent. Focused. Their only concern was her father. She was just the fallen branch you had to swerve past to avoid a collision. She knew that most were probably afraid of upsetting her as well, which could possibly mean getting on her father's bad side and being forced to resign, if not something worse. Although the longest a Clan member stayed around these days were a month or two at the most. Because of the turtles, the Clan's amount had been dropping drastically, forcing Bradford to deal with the brattiest delinquents Karai had ever seen in her life. It was one of the reasons she stayed in the loft above the club's gym, Bradford's old office. He rarely even came up since his mutation.

Below, she could occasionally hear the clatter of metal against metal or Bradford's furious shouting. Most of the kids were sent straight from the Purple Dragons themselves, if they made the cut. It was a cycle, really. The Dragons tested the teenagers with various heist and initiations. If they passed that, then they were sent to Bradford, but only if the Dragons felt that the teens wouldn't go running to the cops about Bradford or Xever's appearance. Most were too traumatized by the time Bradford's own tests, where he had them fight _each other _and eventually Xever, were complete to ever mention it again. That, or they just didn't want word getting out about them losing. Or the idea of a mutant dog and fish just seemed really absurd to the New York cops. Karai leaned back, resting against the railing. Finally, a final angry snarl demanded all the teenagers below to leave. With a quick shuffle of feet and no protest, they were gone and the silence took their place. At least, until several crashes, breaking glass, and furious screaming, filled the gym again. Bradford.

_Melodramatic much, _Karai could help but think.

But she could see why Bradford was mad. He was her dad's top dog (no pun intended) and lately had been having nothing but trouble keeping his boss's desires up to speed (again, thanks to their turtle chums.) He was a mutant. He had lost everything including his fame, identity, and dignity. His job was the last thing he clung to. And even then, it seemed that her father was ready to put him on the street any day now. The fact that the Purple Dragons kept sending him teenage idiots certainly wasn't helping the matter. It was also the reason that Karai was slightly frustrated as well. After failing to knab April, it was implied that she had been denoted, thought the "Track-and-seek-Hamato-Yoshi" plan was still in place, including his disciples. Even if it wasn't, they were on _her_ list.

The room below went silent again and remained that way for several minutes. Slowly, clanking footsteps made their way up to the loft. Bradford was probably taking a breather, so more than likely it was Xever. Karai had been right.

"Miss Karai." Xever seemed surprised to see her here.

Xever had a thing about calling her "Miss Karai" rather than "Oroku Karai." It never really bothered her, that's how things were done in America, it was just something she noticed. Xever seemed gutsy enough and she had known Bradford since she was a child, often getting lumped with him every time her dad had important matters to take care of and she needed a babysitter, so they didn't worry about upsetting her as much as the Foot soldiers did. They were smart enough to realize that she mostly minded her own business and dealt with someone personally, rather than run to her dad. Bradford had discovered that candy shut her up as well when she was younger, though it hardly ever worked today. _Hardly._

"It would have been considerate of a certain _someone_ to alert me of your arrival, but this really doesn't surprise me."

"It's Chris." Karai replied, flatly. "He doesn't _do_ considerate. Though I'm pretty sure you've already discovered that."

Karai's way of being brutally honest usually put off some people. For Xever, it just seemed to make her antics amusing, especially when the other party didn't know how to react to them. Another crash came from below. Karai merely shifted and peeked through the railing, hoping to catch a glimpse of Chris in action. If he kept it up, everything worth value in his shop would be destroyed. Seeing nothing, her hand went to her chin, her smirk disappearing.

"I get the feeling that something is wrong?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just thinking about how I can maim the turtles." Karai added more bravado than needed on the last few words. She stopped abruptly as Bradford made his way up the stairs, his footsteps heavy. He was glaring, and his expression was somewhat dead, honestly.

"We've got more than enough bitter revenge to go around." Bradford stated on his way toward the display case across the room. A bowl dropped on a desk beside it and clattered. A pair of wrapped chopsticks followed quickly behind. "So right now its either food or nothing."

The delivery guy had arrived earlier and Bradford made one of the street urchins run out to pay for it. Ever since their mutation, both Cradford and Xever's metabolism had become higher. This meant that they needed to eat. A LOT. Still, seeing that their boss's daughter had arrived hours earlier and neglected to eat anything before she came, Bradford made sure to sit some aside for her. Karai always needed to be at the top of her game, and he wasn't going to be at fault if she wasn't. Karai only sat there for a second, before deciding that Chris was right and went over to gingerly pick at the beef and peppers in the bowl before taking a new seat on the desk beside him.

"So, I take it my dad blabbed to you about what happened, right?" She asked. "That I have to start helping you find some more recruits?"

"Yup." Bradford replied. He was busy looking over a map of Manhattan that hung on the wall, possibly planning a raid or attack that her father had neglected to mention. Compared to what she had heard earlier, she knew he was calming down. "As punishment for losing that..." What was her name? "April girl?"

"She caught me off guard. But don't worry. It won't happen again." Karai replied, confidently. "And its not like I actually see this as a punishment." She added. "I mean, my father is making me go out into the city that never sleeps. I could definitely have some fun with this. I could have gotten it worse. The only thing I'm really concerned about is..." Her voice trailed off, unsure of how much she should reveal.

"Disappointing your father." Xever finished, from the spot where she had formerly sat. He was leaning against the rail with his arms crossed.

She remained silent, before taking another bite of green pepper.

_Have I really become that predictable,_ she wondered?

The phone in her jacket pocket suddenly started to ring. She sat her bowl and chopsticks down on the desk before pulling it out. She had left the skyscraper without her dad's permission, meaning to get some fresh air, but ended up at the athletic club and had stayed longer than intended. Normally neither her father nor she would care, but ever since the April incident her father was becoming more strict with her, feeling that his daughter was losing her touch.

"Any bets on who it is?"

"Nope." Bradford deadpanned.

_Good boy,_ she figured.

It turned out that the caller wasn't her father like she had expected. Karai even did a double take at the screen, disbelief suddenly filling her over who it was instead. Seriously? It had been _months_! After all this time...they hadn't forgotten about her? If not, then why couldn't pick up a stupid phone? Not wanting Bradford and Xever to hear the conversation (She trusted them, but she was still a teenager after all,) she headed toward the stairs.

"I've learned not to make wagers I can't win." Xever noted as she past him. He had noticed her sudden alertness. Not annoyance, just alertness. Gold ninja star for observation. At the tip of the stairs, Karai stopped, another thought taking over. How long had she known Bradford? Years. She hardly even knew anything _about_ him.

"Hey Bradford."

"Hmmm?"

"Did you have a lot of friends growing up?"

Xever now turned to face Bradford's back, curiosity winning him over as well. Chris collected the map, folding it into a crumbled scroll, then headed toward his office.

"Friends are a waste." He grumbled. "You're better off alone."

Thoughts of the missile launcher incident at he docks with the Kraang, where the turtles had attempted to attack her father, rang through Karai's head as Bradford disappeared.

"Good to know." She muttered, before heading downstairs.

Entering the gym, she made her way toward the front door, seeing that the crash earlier was caused by a barbell through one of the glass weaponry cases. Sliding out and pressing herself against the wall, she dialed the number back. It had long since stopped ringing. Hearing the ring on the other end, a faint hello echoed a second later.

"Lotus?" She replied. "Yeah, I'm fine. How have you and Mei been?"

* * *

"I get that Donnie wants me to eat so that I can get my strength back up, but what does the sports drink do?" Mikey questioned.

Once they had gotten back to he lair and Donnie had gotten Mikey back up to par, he decided to check up on Leo, just to make sure the Napalm didn't have any strange effects. He had come back negative. With everybody in the living room now, minus Donnie who had gone to give Sensei something before returning to his own room, Mikey expected his question to be answered by one of his other brothers. With Leo's eyes locked on the television and Raph's equally locked on one of the comic books he held, April decided to step up to the plate.

"To replenish your electrolytes." She replied. "The jocks at my school drink it all the time. Trust me, it'll help."

"Whatever you say." He shrugged, then took another swig before biting into a piece of the leftover pizza they had in the kitchen. With his cheeriness and appetite back, the guys determined that he would be fine. Donnie walked in a few minutes later, a trail of white lights in one hand and several books and comics in the other. He stopped beside Mikey and held the stack out to him as an offering. With a dramatic gasp he, grabbed them.

"The Zombie Survival Guide! Batman! Iron Man! Spiderman! Gone! Some manga I've never even heard of!" His eyes were wide with disbelief. He had Donnie wrapped in a hug instantly. "Dude! You are my_ hero_! Where did you get these?"

"They were..." He tried to think of a way around the truth, but saw none. "They belonged to Tim."

At that, Leo and Raph looked over. Even Mikey had gone silent.

"Oh." He replied. He glimpsed down at the second book in the Gone series, _Hunger_. "I didn't even know he liked this series."

"I didn't even know he could read."

"_Raph_." Leo warned.

Ignoring them, Donnie held the Christmas lights up, showing them to April.

"I got these for you, you know. I thought they might brighten up your room a little better."

Sensing several jokes that could be pulled at the statement long before Raph did, Leo jumped up and covered his brother's mouth just as he opened it to speak.

"Not that we don't..." Raph shoved Leo's hand away with slight annoyance. Leo shot a look of warning, telling him to act his age. "Appreciate the gifts but...don't you think it was a little wrong to take Tim's stuff? I mean, if you just found them then I'm sure it would be better, but...

Donnie stared blankly at Leo as he babbled. He even continued to do while he pulled a small toy, craddled in his arms and hidden by the lights, out and held it up. He never broke stance the entire time. This caused Leo to stop mid-sentence.

"A CAPTAIN RYAN ACTION FIGURE!" He shouted in disbelief.

He snatched it from Donnie's hands. Donnie only crossed his arms as a smug expression appeared on his face at Leo's double standard. For the next few seconds April and the guys observed Leo as he flew Captain Ryan around in an imaginary ship and mimicked the character's voices. It was only when then Leo noticed how intensely they were staring at him did he stand straight and give a slight cough, followed by a few fake, soft laughs in an attempt to smoothen the situation.

"Any more rules, oh fearless_ leader_?" Donnie questioned, his brow raising.

"I..." His voice trailed off. "No."

"Funny how something doesn't apply when it concerns you, huh?" Raph added.

Shooting a _"I-despise-you-all_" type look, Leo walked back over to sit on the couch, trying to recover from his embarrassment. With that being over, April took the lights from Donnie and looked them over for a second.

"Why don't we put one set near Tim's container. That wouldn't affect the..._goop_ he swims in, would it?"

"It shouldn't. It's actually not a bad idea, either."

"Awesome, but I have something I need to show you in my room first." She replied.

Again, Leo was prepared. From the look on Raph's face he could tell that it was a good one too. He charged, crashing into his brother and sending them_ both_ tumbling backwards along with the couch. Noticing the rustle, April's expression only fell. So _THIS_ is what it would be like to have sibblings. She shoved Donnie toward the lab.

"On second thought, I'll run, get it, and meet you there. Deal?"

"Sounds good to me." Donnie smiled, happy to get away from Leo and Raph. Or maybe it was just the fact that April had her hands on his shoulders.

The two parted and April headed toward her room to grab her school notebook. They contained Mikey's _rough drafts_, which he had neglected to remove before she had seen them. Normally, she wouldn't pry, but she could tell that they had been drawn over a long period of time. Bradford, in his original human form was drawn on one, then marked out with the bright red crayon, symbolizing his betrayal. April felt a little guilty of it, knowing that she was the one who introduced him to the MyFace website in the first place. Same thing with Karai on another page. Leo had _thought_ she was their friend. Lastly Bradford and Xever, as mutants, were drawn on another page and crossed out a final time. The only reason April could think as to what would make Mikey change his mind would be when Stockman went all haywire and forced them to work together a few months ago in his maze. For whatever reason, Mikey must have seen the good in them again and debated whether or not to add them again. Mikey truly saw the good in people. It was a trait that could be seen as something to hate _and_ something to desire. The final X must have been drawn after he met them in battle again and realized that the two still wanted them gone. Either way, April's female instincts sensed inner-turmoil. More than enough reason to at least talk to Donnie about it. She could always go to Leo, but a big confrontation might take place that she didn't want to be responsible for upsetting Mikey when it could easily be avoided. Collecting the notebook and hiding the drawings between the covers, she left her room.

* * *

Donnie passed Mikey on his way to the lab. He had ditched upon seeing Raph and Leo knocking over the couch and probably not wanting to get blamed which, honestly, happened _a lot_. He sat on the tire swing, glancing over the unknown manga that Donnie had given him, a slightly confused expression on his face. This was something that Donnie couldn't help but notice.

"Everything okay?"

Mikey leaned forward.

"I'm trying to figure out what these two people are doing?" He admitted. He held the page up so Donnie could see. Donnie's eyes only widened and with a gasp, he grabbed the manga from Mikey's hands and spun the tire swing.

"NO!" He called toward Mikey as he backed toward the door, the light's still dangled from his pointing hand as he did so. It was in vain, because Mikey was still spinning and complaining, his voice rising and fading as he swung by. As dizzy as he would be, Donnie doubted he would even see him in the first place.

Still, that didn't stop him.

"NO!" He called again, before disappearing into the lab.

Raph observed the whole thing from the kitchen, having returned with Spike seconds earlier. Mikey, slightly stumbling, headed toward his room once the tire swing slowed to the stop. A night's sleep would probably do him some good. April ran by not long after with her notebook, several sheets of white computer paper falling and leaving a trail without her noticing. Lastly, El Dorko was glued to the TV set again, lovingly clutching the action figure. They were all just so...so..._dysfunctional_. Looking down at Spike, Raph placed a leaf in front of him.

"Chew on your leaf if you think we should invite Salamander over soon. We could use somebody else that can deal with the dumb stuff that goes on around here."

Spike, willingly, chomped down.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

**Welcome to the Family**

* * *

"But..._still_. You guys live in a sewer." Mona deadpanned.

She traveled through the shadows with Donnie, occasionally twirling his Bo Staff as the pacing became lighter between the two. He had been hesitant to give it to her at first, but those few moments where she almost wandered into the light or got too close to the street revealed how nervous she was at leaving her home in over a year. She needed something to occupy her mind.

Donnie honestly hadn't wanted to invite her over this early or even under the current circumstances, but Mikey (mostly) and April's begging had gotten the better of him. The effects of the parasitic bite temporarily took a toll on Raph and Leo's immune system due to their prolonged exposure. Or, to put it in more simple terms, they had gotten the flu. Since Donnie had locked himself in the lab for most of the week and April's determination in training was at an all time high, Mikey was left to attend to his older brothers by himself. Taking care of the A-Team. It couldn't be that hard, right?

* * *

"Mikey, it's cold in here. Are there any more blankets?"

"Mikey! Is there any soup?"

"Hey Mikey, could you drag the T.V in here? Space Heroes is on!"

"Do we have any more headache medicine?"

"Could you come open the window?"

"Never mind. There_ is_ no window. It's the fever."

"Could you bring Spike in here?"

"On second thought, he might catch what I have."

"No! Bring him back!"

"Can I have some ice cream, Mikey?"

"I want some too!"

"Leo _would_ get all of the chocolate. Never mind. I don't want it anymore."

"Oh crap, Mikey. I don't feel so good..."

"Mikey, where are my comic books at? Did you take them? Again?"

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"Mikey!"

"**Mikey!**"

"**HOLD THE HECK ON A SECOND!**"

* * *

At request, Master Splinter kindly took Raph and Leo aside and reminded them that, despite popular belief, Mikey wasn't a servant and they weren't kings that needed to be waited on hand and foot. He also reminded Donnie and April that leaving the lab and taking a break every now and then to help the duo when they _did need it _wouldn't hurt either. Once training finished that morning, April joined Donnie and Mikey in the lab. The A-Team had finally drifted off for a nap hours earlier, giving the three a break. Donnie decided to stream through the current surveillance footage on his computer, occasionally fast forwarding through the dull parts. As far as major criminals went, few rarely came to Mona's shop that week. Although, Donnie quickly discovered from the audio that a new steroid-like drug called _Mute_ was circulating between the teens of New York and the underground fight clubs and hang outs they inhabited. It was something to check out soon.

But not today.

Today, he had two sick brothers to worry about. The headaches that came with the flu made Raph even grumpier than usual. Leo had been unable to do mostly anything without lapsing into a sneezing fit earlier in the week. Donnie's medicine mixtures just weren't doing the trick and he began to worry if it could be something more drastic, but it was slowly starting to wear down. They could all use a little help...and lately Donnie had been wanting to show a certain lizard girl the video surveillance that had been captured. Mikey couldn't say yes fast enough. April seemed pretty pleased with the situation as well. She would finally get to talk to a familiar face from school besides Irma, and even then their communication had resorted to texting. With another phone call, Donnie found himself leading Mona toward the sewer's side entrance where he usually parked the Shellraiser.

"It's not that bad." Donnie protested. "If you can get past the smell. It pretty much fades when you enter the lair."

"Sounds lovely."

She now spun Donnie's staff with a single hand. It reminded her of the batons she often used at cheerleading practice. Donnie stayed on the opposite side of her, free from aim in case she messed up. Her thumb soon answered that call and it fell to the dirt in the alley seconds later.

"Sorry." She apologized, reaching for it. She sensed a special bond between the guys and their weapons and didn't want to do anything that seemed disrespectful. Donnie only shrugged. How many times had he dropped his staff growing up?

"It's fine." He replied. She dusted it off and handed it back to him. "Just out of curiosity, do you have a preferred weapon?"

"A specific one? No. I'm beginning to think that keeping one on me wouldn't be a bad idea. I keep getting the feeling that..."

"Something bad is about to happen?" Donnie finished.

Surprised by his words, she looked to the ground.

"You too, huh?"

Donnie only nodded. He had tried to remain optimistic through everything that had been happening, but the minute Shredder revealed himself and April walked into their lives, as amazing as April was, he knew that things were about to get even more complicated. The lair and the sewers weren't as safe as they were when he and his brothers were little.

"I've seen those robot-alien things that you and your brothers have fought before." She explained. Mikey had been calling her a lot, obviously he would spill a few details about their little adventures to their new friend, especially if they seemed to make him look cool. She probably knew every gory detail about the parasitic wasp.

"Remember what I told you back at the garage that night? About the old Mona? Those_ things_ are the reason I am the way I am now. If it wasn't for them I would still be at school, working toward getting a Physics scholarship behind my parents' backs while they breathe down my neck about cheerleading. But...as much as I've missed doing normal_ human_ things, I actually feel like I can be myself now. Free. Like, I don't have to worry about impressing anybody. Win some, lose some. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"In a way." He replied. "Technically my brothers and I have never really experienced the "human life" before, as you've probably already guessed, but we've seen those cheesy family sitcoms and we've all wished we were human at one point or the other. It just seems like it would be easier. We wouldn't have to worry about people attempting to kill us all the time. Normal civilian people, if I were to be specific. I feel as if Mikey has it the worst. He's so eager to make human friends and show everybody that we're not monsters but it always ends in disaster."

"Humanity isn't as common as it seems. You be surprised how many _humans_ themselves lack it."

Not it was Donnie's turn to be silent, too stunned by the girl's words to speak. He had faith in humanity, but the way Mona spoke made it seem like she had given up on it a long time ago. Maybe they just had it easy growing up? They always knew that Sensei hid them because the human world could be a scary place, but they had only discovered_ how_ scary over the past few months. Even then, Donnie could fight back and knew that his brothers would be right beside him. Who did Mona have? Angel? Danny? He sensed that the duo hadn't known her for very long, certainly not before the boat accident. She had mostly been on her own over the past year. Possibly, she had been on her own_ long_ before her mutation. He can only imagine how lonely she must have been. The two traveled on in silence until Mona spoke once more.

"Do you mind if I ask_ why_ you and your brothers are inviting me over? I mean, I get the whole mutants-need-to-stick-together-thing, but...?"

Donnie thought back to the drawings Mikey had made, especially the crossed out ones.

"We've...had difficulty _keeping_ friends." He responded. "Keeping them human, keeping them safe, keeping our promises to them, and keeping them on Earth to be specific."

Mona only blinked.

"I'm so confused right now." She admitted. This only made Donnie chuckle slightly.

"How about I explain everything once we're in the lair? Our Sensei has been wanting to meet you. He could sum up a few things if you still have any questions."

"Sounds good to me." Mona shrugged. She was just going along with everything right now. "Oh, and if there's anything I can help you guys with, like a tune up or anything, just ask. I'm sure I have a few things I need to make up to you and your brothers as well. Oh, and...you're_ it_ by he way."

"Thanks. You know, it's actually pretty enlightening to find another mutant that has an interest in science and engineering because...wait. I'm what?"

She took off, racing past him with a smirk on her face.

"It." He realized.

She slowed and turned around, challenging him.

"You realize this race is entirely bias, right?" He questioned. "You don't even know where the lair entrance is!" He shouted.

"Loser talk!" She called back. "You're the big, stealthy, ninja! Right? Prove it, Beanpole!"

_Beanpole? Again?_ Okay, now it was on. Quickly, he sprinted to catch up.

* * *

"I don't get these dream interpretations thingies." Mikey admitted.

He sat on the living room floor with Raph and April. One of Mr. O'Neil's Psychology books rest in April's lap.

"Basically it's the result of believing that certain symbols in your dreams mean something in real life. Like...Raph..." She started.

Raph, who was dozing slightly but feeling better than he had earlier, opened his eyes at the mention of his name.

"Tell me about a dream you remember recently." April requested.

"I've been sick for the past three days." He stated. "Do you really want to hear about the things I've been dreaming about?"

_Kind of._

"I'll go with no."

"One time, I had a dream that we were all eating dinner in the glass dome of some skyscraper restaurant, and Morgan Freeman walked by, and I got into a fist fight with Donnie and Leo and Raph over who would get to meet him first."

Raph and April shot a look at him, something that ceased to break for a few moments. Finally, Raph and April's eyes drifted toward each other in a silent bet.

"If Morgan Freeman's name is in there you get the last slice next time we order pizza."

April had a feeling it wasn't going to be, but she checked the glossary anyway.

Several shouts came from the front of the lair then, making Raph and Mikey look up. Donnie's was easily recognizable. Seconds later, Mona skidded to a stop, realizing that the giant, metal arch was, indeed, the entrance to the lair. Seeing April, Raph, and Mikey sitting on the couch seemed to finalize her suspicion, but it was too late. Pulling a quick jump over the entrance dispensers, Donatello darted to the couch with Mona in tow.

"I told you that race was bias." Donnie protested.

Mona paused to catch her breath. Donnie hadn't even broken a sweat.

Within seconds, Mikey soon made his reflexes known as well and jumped up upon seeing their guest.

"Mona!" He quickly wrapped her in a hug, which seemed to surprise her. "You actually CAME! Are Danny and Angel coming too?"

Mona hadn't called Danny or Angel to come, though Donnie implied that she could. She just knew that both happened to be busy today. Mona returned the orange clad turtle hug and then proceeded to peel him off.

"No. Angel got pulled for vet duty at her grandma's clinic this morning before school. She couldn't exactly afford to miss out on any sleep to sneak out. Danny went with the band on a hockey trip yesterday evening, he'll probably be back on Saturday. They said they'll come over as soon as possible."

Mikey looked slightly deflated at her words. April quickly leaned over the back of the couch with the psychology book in front of her.

"I had no idea Danny was in band." She admitted.

"He's on drum line." Mona explained.

"He waves around a guitar like a club and he's on drum line?" Donnie questioned. He and April shot a quick look at each other before it drifted back to Mona. "I can't be the only one who finds that slightly amusing."

Mona only shrugged. It was just the way Danny was.

Angel was always telling her how much he had changed since his older brother disappeared a few months back. Not that his brother was around much in the first place after making it big. Whenever he came around it usually led to fighting between he and their father over Danny's career options. Danny wanted to go into the music industry, his dad wanted him to get a high paying job like a lawyer so he could be set for the future or possibly follow in his footsteps at the news station. His older brother had gotten instant fame from his martial arts passion and saw potential in his little brother's music. Their father acted as if they were both just making fools of themselves. Eventually, the phone calls between the three stopped and the missing person reports appeared on the news not long after. Danny and Angel still goofed off together, but Angel always sensed some bitter undertone, especially when Mr. Pennington was around. It was almost as if Danny blamed his dad for the entire thing.

"As I predicted, Morgan Freeman isn't in here. So I looked up celebrities." April explained seconds later. She flipped a page and read the text. "To see a celebrity in your dream represents your pursuit for fame. Your admiration of a particular celebrity may lead to a desire to have some of their physical or personality traits. Consider also who this celebrity is and what characteristics you associate with him or her. These may be the same characteristics that you need to acknowledge or incorporate into yourself. The dream may also be a pun on his or her name."

"In other words, you want to be famous and you admire Morgan Freeman." Donnie simplified.

"Well DUH!" Mikey retorted.

Again, Mona was confused.

"Why are we talking about...?"

"Just...don't ask." Donnie sighed. If Mona came around enough, she would get use to it as well. "Sensei and Leo are in the dojo right now. Raph, since you haven't even acknowledged Mona arriving would you mind showing her the way?"

Without saying a word, much to Donnie and April's surprise, Raph rose and stalked past them. After shooting a questioning glance at the other three, she followed behind him. Raph waited until they were out of earshot to speak.

"Nice hair by the way." He smirked. It wasn't a compliment. For the second time, Mona found herself giving him a quick punch, this time to his arm, and for the second time, it did nothing.

"When you wake up at five, your hair looks like this." She explained, referring to the messy ponytail she had fallen asleep in. What else was she suppose to do when Donnie dropped by so early? He should have specified the time. Her sleeping schedule had been so out of whack lately.

"I wouldn't know." He replied.

_No you wouldn't. Would you,_ she thought.

Raph's mask tails dangled on the back of his neck. Within seconds, and without his knowing, Mona managed to fashion it into a bow.

He honestly didn't think he was going to get away with that throwing knife thing, did he?

* * *

"And it's just...I know I can lead them. I really do, Sensei. But after what that Hun kid did to Mikey and after the whole mutant wasp situation and everything that's happened before this..." Leo's voice trailed off, unable to choose the right wording to describe what he felt at the moment. "I'm just afraid that they're going to get hurt. And I'm afraid that next time, there won't be anything I'll be able to do about it."

Sensei took in his son's words. Even before Leo came to him, he could see that his son's thoughts were filled with worry and negativity. When he finally wandered into the lair, his blue eyes bright, Master Splinter could see the same, frightened child he had taken in fifteen years earlier.

"To see a loved one in danger is always a frightening experience, Leonardo."

Leo thought of Tang Shen and baby Miwa, and glanced over to the very picture of them that sat on the shelf in the dojo, but said nothing as his gaze fell to his hands. Whatever it_ was_ that was coming made Leo feel as if every other battle had been a walk in the park. Master Splinter's cane soon rested gently under his chin, tilting his head up so the two now met each other's gaze.

"However, the first step to overcome this fear is the realization that it is present."

Yes, Leo was scared. They all were. But until this threat, whatever it was, showed up, there was no point in letting it consume him. Hearing Raph calling them from the hall, the duo broke from their thoughts.

"Perhaps this conversation is best left for another time." Sensei suggested. Leo nodded.

Raph entered the dojo and bowed, which Sensei and Leo returned. Mona, unsure of what to do, looked to Leo for guidance. Being slightly behind Sensei's peripheral, though that didn't necessarily mean he didn't have an idea of what his son was doing, Leo pressed his hands together and leaned forward slightly, showing her that it was their form of saying hello and paying respect. Catching on, she mimicked the two brothers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you...Master Splinter?" Mona replied uncertainly.

Is that what he wanted her to call him? Or just Sensei? Oh gosh! Why didn't Donnie give her time to brush up on proper etiquette? She must look so _stupid_ right now. She was relieved to see a small smirk come across his face. It made his form appear a little less frightening.

"So_ you_ are Mona Lisa." He spoke. "My sons have told me many things about you."

_She could imagine._

Given the awkward silence that suddenly fell over them, Leo decided that maybe four was a crowd.

"Come on, Raph. Let's go see if Donnie needs help moving anything in his lab. I'm sure Mona would love to some of his inventions later." By the time Mikey finished telling her every plot and detail in his numerous comic books, it would probably be a relief. As Raph turned, Leo caught sight of the bow Mona had made with his mask tails.

"On a scale of one to geek, how upset do you think Donnie would get if I accidentally knocked something over on purpose?" Raph question, pounding his fist into his palm.

"I have a feeling there might be tears." Leo replied. Raph disappeared into the hallway as Leo's voice shifted to a slight laugh. Impressive. He had to give Mona props for that one. He turned back to her.

"Gracias, Leo." She whispered.

He gave her a nod before leaving. Mona turned back to Master Splinter, only to discover that his gaze was already fixated on her.

"You speak Spanish." He noted.

"I do." Mona replied. "My father's family is Spanish. Do you speak it as well? Mikey told me that you know English and Japanese."

"I have studied many cultures in my time. The Spanish language as an entirety is something I am unfamiliar with. I sense our Japanese customs are unfamiliar to you as well?"

Mona didn't know what to say. He was interested in other cultures. Maybe that's why he named the guys after Renaissance artist? As if reading her mind, he continued.

"Perhaps we could exchange one another's stories one day soon." He suggested.

"Actually..." Mona sat down on the floor. "I have all the time in the world to listen...if that's okay with you."


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

**Better Worlds (Part One)**

* * *

As expected, class without Danny or Casey was a complete bore. True, Angel had Irma in science third period (and_ she_ was really _something_), but that was only one class throughout the entire day. Now, she sat in fifth period history, hiding her phone behind her copy of The Great Gatsby. It was on the required reading list and even then, the school theater department was putting on a play of it. If times were different, Angel might have tried out for the part of Jordan Baker. Although, ever since she quit theater her drama "friends" wouldn't let her live it down, especially Danny's cousin Buffy, who_ always_ had to be the center of attention. She and Angel were constantly at each other's throats, so it was a wonder she wasn't_ happy_ about being the best _remaining_ actress in the club. Angel's dad hadn't been happy about the discovery, either. He even stated that when she had theater she at least_ cared_ about something. It was one of the reasons he made her work at her grandma's vet clinic after school, which she honestly didn't mind if it made her dad stop calling her lazy. Between that and supplying Mona with food and running errands for her in the human world, Angel was usually beat by the end of the week.

If her dad _only knew _the entire situation with April, the guys, and Mona right now.

Mona.

After she rewired that alarm at that electronic store and set it off to lure away the cops, Angel knew that she owed the poor girl. If her dad found out she was robbing a museum and stealing for The Purple Dragons, she would be toast. (Though it would probably help the museum_ itself _if it had better security.) She honestly didn't expect to warm up to the mutant girl. Maybe it was just empathy itself that drew them together. Mona was on her own, needing food but having no way to get it. She had been terrified to leave her home due to the treatment after those first few days of her mutation. In fact, visiting the turtles' home today was the first time she had left it in over a year. Angel felt that she should be with her, but one could only skip school so often before people began to notice. Deep down, she really wished that she could invite Mona over to her home, but as judgmental as her father was he would probably have scientist ready to take her away within seconds. Her grandmother...she didn't know. Her grandma was pretty kind toward animals and other people. Would it matter if Mona was...well, a combination of the two?

Maybe it was better that she hung out with the turtles. Maybe she would be better off with beings like her in the first place. They could actually welcome her to their home without any worry and they could probably be better friends to her too. Angel couldn't even keep her lousy mutation a secret! Danny followed her to the garage one day, wondering why she had been acting so weird. The two were considering if they should tell Casey or not, as he was the only one in the group who didn't know about Mona, but he had been disappearing so often that the duo couldn't find the right time.

Angel's phone signaled a new text message and she sent the reply to April.

_Just promise me you'll keep an eye on Irma while I'm gone, alright? You know she has a habit of getting into trouble._ ~April

_Yeah. I've noticed. And don't worry, I've got Weirdo McGee's back, just so long as you'll look after Mona today. She might be kind of nervous._ ~ Angel

_Will do. And I really wish you wouldn't call Irma that. -_-_ ~April

_^_^_ ~ Angel

_Fair enough. Just promise me you won't dramatically fall into Leo's arms ever again._ ~April

In spite of herself, Angel laughed.

_Oh, don't worry. And I won't tell Mikey to look anything up, either. I'll act just as my name implies._ ~Angel

_Part of me disbelieves that, but whatever._ ~April

_I've got to go now, class is about to start._ ~Angel

The conversation finished in time for Rocko and Gabby to enter the room, snickering. Turning her phone on vibrate and slipping it into her jacket pocket, Angel turned to them. The two weren't as close to Angel as she was to Mona. They weren't even as close to her as Danny and Casey were, but Gabrielle was Casey's ex-girlfriend and she knew Rocko from theater. They all got along well enough in the shark tank that _was_ high school.

"Are you guys going to be okay?" Angel questioned.

"Yeah, I..." Rocko's voice trailed off and more snickering followed behind. Seeing as how the blue-haired boy was slightly unstable at the moment, Angel looked to the only other person between them that had common sense.

"Gabrielle. Can you_ please_ tell me what's wrong with him? Not in general. Just right now."

"I can, but its mean. It's funny, but its mean."

"Spill."

"We were walking to class and Buffy was in front of us singing some kind of Broadway song..."

"But...Buffy can't sing." Angel replied.

"That's exactly our point." Rocko replied, wiping a tear from his eye and sitting up. Confused, Angel continued to listen.

"So she strikes this really low note once she gets inside the classroom, we're passing right beside her and Rocko yells out: God! She sounds like a man!" Then, the entire class cracks up."

"It was beautiful. You should have been there." Rocko replied.

"I can imagine so." Angel rolled her eyes, but she cracked a grin nevertheless and turned to gather her books.

"On a lighter note, are you going to try out?" Gabby questioned. She was referring to The Great Gatsby book that Angel still held.

"For Jordan? Probably not. I've got...things I have to do after school these days." She wanted to get off this subject. Badly. "Are you two going to that showcase The Purple Dragons told us about in a few weeks?"

"Rocko is. I'm just driving him there. Honestly, I don't want any part of it."

"Why not?" Rocko questioned. "You think they're going to beat me and I'll embarrass you?" He did several gestures toward her, acting like he was going to poke her before she shooed him off.

"No, I just don't like The Purple Dragons in general. Didn't you hear what they did to Mr. Murakami at his shop a few months back. I'm kind of with Casey when he says that people shouldn't associate with them. And what _is_ this showcase even about, anyway? Joining a ninja clan? Whatever ninja clan is employing teenagers probably doesn't have their best interest at heart. I hate to be the naggy one, but that's just how I feel."

"Maybe they're just trying to give a few of the homeless kids or the kids from bad households a better opportunity?" Rocko suggested, though slightly deflated. It was a wonder Rocko was so eager to join himself. His family wasn't exactly happy of what he was. "I mean, how does that one quote go? Every villain is a hero in their own mind?"

"There's another quote, Rocko. Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one."

Glaring now, Rocko let out a slow sigh and turned around in his desk. Gabby's normally kind expression fell a little. She honestly hadn't wanted to anger him. She was one of the nicest girls in school, so Rocko knew this by heart.

Their history teacher went to the board then, revealing that class had begun. Shooting a sympathetic look at Gabby, Angel turned back around while her words encircled her mind. _Be careful when you fight the monsters, lest you become one. _As Mr. Wayne nagged on about the Revolutionary War, Angel's felt her phone begin to vibrate in her pocket.

_I told you April, I can't text right now._

Waiting until he turned, she whipped it out and quickly looked over the text, only discover that it wasn't April who had texted her at all.

_I have a few friends coming over in a week. Care to hang out with us?_ ~Karai

* * *

**Splitsies! Next chapter or two will involve Karai, her secret friends, and possibly Mona finally exploring Donnie's lab. Gabrielle was a girlfriend of Casey's in the original comics. Rocko is an OC that will have more of a role later. Have a nice night. O3O**


End file.
